Congressional Record, Senate, May 19, 2021 — Endless Frontier Act and Worker Shortage Remarks
Summary
A page of the Congressional Record, Senate, dated May 19, 2021, at pages S2755 and S2756, carrying floor speeches. A Senator at the top of the page supports the Endless Frontier Act while regretting what the speaker calls a rushed process, noting that the majority leader laid down a very large substitute and asking for an open amendment process. Mr. Grassley speaks on three subjects, saying the unemployment benefits extended in the COVID relief bill are the biggest impediment to finding workers in Iowa, whose unemployment rate is 3.7 percent, and also raising removal of inspectors general and the Keystone XL and Enbridge Line 5 pipelines. Ms. Cantwell asks consent on the Alaska Tourism Recovery Act, H.R. 1318.
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“Congressional Record, Senate, May 19, 2021 — Endless Frontier Act and Worker Shortage Remarks.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2021-05-19-crec-2021-05-19-pt1-pgs2755-2-4d272b6c5c/
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May 19, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE CORRECTION S2755
expenditure of taxpayer dollars by pre- cations Supply Chain Diversity Pro- Without objection, it is so ordered.
venting bureaucratic turf wars, which motion Act—significant legislation and Ms. CANTWELL. Thank you, Mr.
can slow down innovation. a mouthful, too. President.
Third, this legislation will protect in- Overall, this is a strong bill, but it I yield the floor.
tellectual property and research from can be made better. As I mentioned at
foreign governments—most notably, the Commerce Committee’s markup
f
China. The Endless Frontier Act will last week, although the bill reported
establish a research security office at out of the committee makes important
the NSF and create a clearinghouse to changes to the underlying bill, I regret ENDLESS FRONTIER ACT
share information about security risks. the rushed process that was followed. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
It also puts forward policies to protect The underlying bill was introduced ator from Iowa.
controlled information, including a on April 20, just under a month ago.
WORKER SHORTAGE
plan for background checks on re- Only yesterday, Senate Majority Lead-
searchers. er SCHUMER laid down a 1,400-page sub- Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I
In addition, it will take critical steps stitute that not only includes the End- want to give short remarks on three
to guard against Chinese intellectual less Frontier Act, but major legislation different subjects. Probably, for people
property theft by prohibiting NSF from the Foreign Relations, Homeland wanting to speak, it will take me about
funds from going to researchers who Security, Banking, HELP, and Judici- 10 or 12 minutes.
are part of a Chinese talent program or ary Committees. Now known as the Thanks to Operation Warp Speed, ef-
an institution with formal ties to a U.S. Innovation and Competition Act— fective vaccines are available on de-
Confucius Institute. This is a new and USICA, I suppose—this legislation will mand to anyone who wants to take the
important step. make significant changes to our inno- shot. That means individuals and busi-
Fourth, this bill will reduce the geo- vation ecosystem and the missions of nesses are beginning to return to a de-
graphic concentration of R&D in a our Federal Agencies. gree of normalcy we have all been wait-
handful of States and universities. Put A bill of this magnitude would nor- ing for.
simply, this bill will be a game changer mally take a year to write and involve However, as I have made my annual
for the R&D geographic diversity that soliciting input from Members and tour through Iowa’s 99 counties, I have
many of us have sought for years, if stakeholders across our country to heard from business after business that
not decades. America can maintain our craft a consensus package. Clearly, the they are desperate for workers, but job
leadership over China only with a sus- Senate should consider this bill with applicants are scarce. Those that do
tained effort that is national in scope. an open amendment process. apply often don’t show up for inter-
We should tap into the wide-ranging Prematurely shutting down debate views.
talents, expertise, and capabilities of on amendments without this open
Americans across this land, including process would send a false signal to Nationally, the economy added over
Nevada and Mississippi. China and the American people that we 700,000 fewer jobs than were expected
The Endless Frontier Act will help are divided in an area where, actually, last month. This is very concerning, as
address these long-standing disparities we are united and together. a vibrant labor market is vital—vital—
by increasing funding for the Estab- And then, when all is said and done, to a strong economy.
lished Program to Stimulate Competi- the effort will have to be paid for and I get that some individuals, even
tive Research, which we have all come will be subject to appropriations. after being vaccinated, may be leery of
to know as EPSCoR. Participation in I hope the majority’s determination returning to the market after a year of
EPSCoR helps institutions in many to rush this legislation through the staying home to be safe, but the vac-
States and Territories improve their Senate is not designed to use a par- cines have been shown to virtually
research capacities and, therefore, tisan reconciliation bill to appropriate eliminate the chance of serious illness.
compete more effectively for Federal funding for these important initiatives. Hopefully, the recent CDC guidelines
R&D funding. The legislation also in- Science has always been debated in a that reinforce this by easing mask
vests in minority serving institutions bipartisan way in this body. Leaving guidelines will reassure individuals
and builds up research capacity in one party on the sidelines in the appro- that it is safe to return to work.
emerging institutions, which have tra- priation process, which I hope will not However, Iowa employers repeatedly
ditionally received a relatively small happen, would have a detrimental con- informed me that the biggest impedi-
share of Federal research dollars. sequences for the long-term stability of ment to finding workers is the over-
No. 5, this bill will boost regional this legislation. the-top unemployment benefits ex-
economic development through the Re- So on the whole, I am positive and tended as part of President Biden’s so-
gional Technology Hub Program. optimistic about this bill and about the called COVID relief bill.
No. 6, it will support manufacturing process that will get us to the end of I had 13 county meetings throughout
programs, in part, by quadrupling the both parties’ desire. Iowa during our last Senate recess, and
Manufacturing Extension Partnership I thank my colleague, Senator CANT- in all but one of them, this came up as
Program, which already exists. WELL, for her work as chair of the Com- a very important issue.
No. 7, it will help America win the merce Committee to get this bill on The simple fact is this: Under that
‘‘New Space Race’’ against China by in- the floor today, and I look forward to partisan COVID package, many indi-
cluding the NASA Authorization Act, working with her to improve the bill in viduals can earn more if they don’t
which the Senate passed unanimously the next step in the process—an open work than if they do work. That is
last year. The NASA bill allows Con- amendment process wrong in principle and has proven dis-
gress to set priorities and guardrails f astrous in practice, and, as a matter of
for the space Agency’s exploration and
ALASKA TOURISM RECOVERY ACT fact, in American society, a job is very
research programs.
No. 8, this bill will authorize a num- Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I ask essential and center to the quality of
ber of telecommunication programs to unanimous consent that upon receipt life.
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improve our telecom workforce and from the House, if the text is identical As my Republican colleagues and I
help get all Americans connected to to the text of S. 593 that passed the have warned for months, incentives
high-speed and reliable broadband. Senate, the Senate proceed to the im- matter. If you can earn more not work-
This bill also includes several bills mediate consideration of H.R. 1318, the ing than working, it makes perfect
that I have championed, including the bill be considered read a third time and sense not to work. I don’t blame work-
Rural STEM Education Act, the Ad- passed, and that the motion to recon- ers for taking that deal. I blame gov-
vanced Technological Manufacturing sider be considered made and laid upon ernment policy that puts the indi-
Act, the Improving Minority Participa- the table. vidual workers in this predicament.
tion and Careers in Telecommuni- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there Even prominent liberal economists
cations Act, and the Telecommuni- objection? have acknowledged a problem with
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S2756 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 19, 2021
continuing to provide increased unem- So we had this meeting yesterday by gress revised the IG act 30 years later,
ployment benefits. For instance, Presi- Zoom, as I just said. We discussed we amended that notification require-
dent Obama’s former chief economic issues of concern that impact both leg- ment and made it even stronger. We re-
adviser, Jason Furman, admitted that islative bodies in our respective coun- quire Presidents to tell us their rea-
if he were in a low unemployment tries. sons and do it in no less than 30 days in
State, he would be—these are his Canada and the United States share advance of the removal. Neither of
quotes—‘‘thinking seriously about the same values and are closely tied to these provisions did anything to pre-
whether paying people more to not each other culturally and economi- vent the President from performing his
work than to work was a good thing to cally. Canada is our closest ally. We constitutional responsibility to hire
continue doing.’’ need to effectively work with Canada and fire people within the executive
This is the case in Iowa, which has an and Canadians on issues that impact branch of government.
unemployment rate of 3.7 percent. That both countries. Unfortunately, Presidents from both
is low even in normal times, but it On his first day in office, President political parties—let me emphasize
should be even lower as Iowa has more Biden made a hasty decision to shut ‘‘from both political parties’’—seem to
job openings than unemployed people. down the construction of the Keystone have a hard time following this simple
I stand firmly behind Governor Rey- XL Pipeline—a decision that cost the notice requirement.
nolds, who recently announced Iowa United States and Canada over 10,000 When President Obama fired IG
would end its participation in the jobs. Walpin of the Corporation for National
counterproductive enhanced benefit This decision by President Biden sent and Community Service early in his
program, and that ending will be effec- a clear signal to other democratic term, he sent a vaguely worded letter
tive June 12. countries across the globe. That mes- saying only that he had ‘‘lost con-
President Biden talks about the gov- sage is, it doesn’t matter if it will cost fidence’’ in Mr. Walpin. When Presi-
ernment creating jobs by spending tril- your State jobs and raise gas prices or dent Trump fired IGs Linick and At-
lions of borrowed dollars, all while irritate an ally; you would be better to kinson last year, he sent letters to
spending more borrowed money to pay listen to ideologues in your party who Congress saying exactly the same
people not to work. Now, that fails the say something like this: Pipelines that thing.
commonsense test. transport oil are bad. As I explained to both Presidents
In Iowa, the private sector is already But while the Keystone XL Pipeline when they sent those letters, merely
creating more jobs than we can fill. is better known, the Canadians who telling Congress that you have ‘‘lost
The economy is poised to take off if the were meeting yesterday were worried confidence’’ in an IG isn’t enough ex-
government just gets out of the way. about the current pipeline in use that planation. The loss of confidence oc-
Politicians should live by the same goes by the name of Enbridge Line 5. curs only after something happens.
principle as doctors: ‘‘First, do no The pipeline, which has been in use When announcing their decision to re-
harm.’’ since 1953, delivers the bulk of Cana-
We shouldn’t continue pandemic-era move an IG from office, Presidents
dian crude exports to the United States need to tell us what that ‘‘something’’
policies longer than they are nec-
and also supplies fuel to Ontario and is. They need to explain why they have
essary. That will only slow our eco-
Quebec. lost confidence. Failing to do so misses
nomic recovery. Just as the CDC up-
In June of 2019, the State of Michigan the point of the notice requirement en-
dated its guidance based upon the new
filed a lawsuit to compel the decom- tirely. The notice requirement isn’t
reality about masks and about the vac-
missioning of the segment of Line 5 about a President’s confidence in the
cine, it is time for Congress to conform
that runs under Lake Michigan. The IG; it is about the public’s confidence
its policies to the conditions on the
basis of the suit is that the pipeline is in the inspector general system across
ground.
a public nuisance that could become a the board.
PIPELINE INFRASTRUCTURE
source of pollution if it leaks. This IGs are put in office to serve as gov-
Mr. President, on another subject,
month, the Canadian Government filed ernment watchdogs. If IGs are carrying
yesterday I participated on a call with
a request to stop the State of Michigan out their duties as intended, they are
Canadian counterparts that serve in
from shutting down the pipeline. likely going to make more enemies
Canada’s Parliament.
Shutting down the pipeline would than friends. They may uncover things
Just for a little background on these
have an immediate effect on crude oil that make the sitting President and
meetings, until the pandemic or until
people got so busy they couldn’t travel supplies for refineries and, as a result, his political appointees very uncom-
back and forth between the two coun- increase the price of gas for Americans. fortable. So what? No President is
tries, over a period of more than a half We saw it over the past 7 or 8 days, how going to like every investigation that
a century, there have been meetings of the Colonial Pipeline’s shutdown has an IG undertakes or every report that
Canadian Parliamentarians and Mem- increased the price of gas—if you could an IG prepares. But IGs should not be
bers of the American Congress on an buy gas. So we ought to be thinking fired just for doing their jobs or to pre-
annual basis. about these problems. vent them from releasing findings that
One time, the U.S. Congressmen For the sake of North American en- may be embarrassing to an administra-
would go to some place in Canada; the ergy independence and for American tion, Republican or Democratic.
next year, the Canadian Parliamentar- jobs and to mend relations with our Requiring the President to explain in
ians would come down here. closest allies, I am asking the Gov- advance why he or she is removing an
In the recent 5 to 10 years, this has ernor of Michigan to reconsider this IG gives Congress time to evaluate
been done more like yesterday by lawsuit. For that matter, President those reasons. It helps assure Congress
Zoom or by a few people from Canada Biden ought to step in and the entire and the public that the termination
coming down here more often than we Democratic Party ought to reconsider isn’t based on politics but on real prob-
went up there. their stance on the use of pipelines. lems with the IG’s ability to carry out
But over the period of my years in Take a cue from the former Governor their job.
the U.S. Senate, I presume I have par- of Michigan, now Energy Secretary Of course, there has been no shortage
ticipated in at least 15 of those meet- Granholm, who said pipelines are ‘‘the of bad IGs who are deserving of re-
ings where we travel back and forth, best way to move oil.’’ moval. In fact, I probably had some-
and I found them very helpful in talk- INSPECTOR GENERAL’S ACT OF 1978 thing to do with removing five or six of
ing about problems between the two Mr. President, my last comment, them in the years I have been in the
countries. The problem is, it is almost which will be very short, deals with the U.S. Senate. Maybe some of those who
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laughable that we have very many subject of the Inspector General’s Act ought to be removed are still in office.
problems between Canada and the of 1978. Recently, I called on the President,
United States. So we would end up When we passed that act, we required President Biden, to remove the Federal
talking about two or three issues, but a President who wants to remove an IG Housing Finance Agency IG due to an
they were problems that had to be to provide Congress specific reasons independent report by the Council of
worked out. why that IG was removed. When Con- the Inspectors General on Integrity
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May 19, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2757
and Efficiency that verified long- hicles that keep members of the mili- portant that this legislation makes the
standing claims to my office that she tary safe in war zones; whether it is Made in America Office a permanent
abused her authority. solar panels and wind turbines and ap- part of the Office of Management and
Whistleblowers originally came to pliances and furniture or dollies strong Budget. It will ensure that American
my office in 2015 with concerning re- enough to move helicopters, Michigan’s workers and businesses receive pref-
ports that the IG was personally and manufacturing workers are the best in erence regardless of who is in the Oval
publicly demeaning her employees. She the world, period. Their hard work Office.
referred to them with demeaning makes our Nation stronger. It is important to emphasize that the
names such as ‘‘weasel.’’ The IG also Unfortunately, there are times when legislation doesn’t just benefit big
allowed her deputy to threaten employ- our Nation hasn’t returned the favor. businesses, and this is important. It
ees who blew the whistle to my office. Each year, Federal Agencies spend bil- calls for Agencies to use a wonderfully
That was over 5 years ago, and—can lions of dollars in taxpayer money on successful entity called the Manufac-
you believe it?—the abuse is still hap- products from the private sector, ev- turing Extension Partnership so that
pening today. erything from vehicles, to office fur- small businesses and medium-sized
Based on my investigations and the niture, to electronics. manufacturers have more opportuni-
CIGIE’s findings, I firmly believe the The Buy American Act, which was ties to sell their products to the Fed-
IG needs to go, but I don’t get to make signed back in 1933, says the Federal eral Government or provide materials
that decision. Only the President can Government should give preference to for federally funded infrastructure
make that decision. He gets to decide high-quality products here in America. projects. And, by the way, there is of-
when to exercise his constitutional au- Common sense, right? American tax- tentimes a situation where a company
thority. He has a right to do so and will payer dollars should go to American could retool pretty quickly to provide
ultimately be accountable to the peo- manufacturers, American businesses, a product if they knew that we were in-
ple for a decision that he makes. All he and American workers. Unfortunately, terested, if we were going to purchase,
has to do, all that is required for him loopholes and waivers and outright and we should give them the oppor-
to do under this law, is to give Con- noncompliance by Federal Agencies tunity if there is an American com-
gress proper notice. That is how things mean that, too many times, American pany that can step up and be able to
should work. That is how things were taxpayer dollars instead go to foreign create that for us.
designed to work, but unfortunately, companies that compete against Amer- Everyone says we need to make more
that is not what has been happening. ican manufacturers and American things in America, and here is an op-
It is clear to me that we have to be workers. portunity to put those words into ac-
even clearer that when we say we want Back in 2018, I released a report that tion. I urge colleagues to pass the End-
reasons, we actually mean it. When showed that between 2008 and 2016, ex-
less Frontier Act, to get the Make It in
making the decision to remove an IG, ceptions and waivers to the Buy Amer-
America Act signed into law, and use
Presidents must send substantive, spe- ican Act allowed Federal Agencies to
our American tax dollars to purchase
cific reasons to Congress in advance ex- spend about $92 billion on foreign-made
great American products that support
plaining the actions they are taking products. That is $92 billion in missed
great-paying American jobs.
and why they are taking those actions. opportunities for American businesses I yield the floor.
That is why I introduced S. 587, the and American workers. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
That is why Senator BRAUN and I in-
Securing Inspector General Independ- ator from New Jersey.
troduced the Make It in America Act,
ence Act. In addition to making the no- CHINA
along with Senator PETERS, Senator
tice requirement even more clear, my Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I
PORTMAN, and Senator BALDWIN. I am
bill would limit who can be an IG in an like calling the Presiding Officer ‘‘Mr.
grateful that Chairman PETERS and
acting capacity and require CIGIE to President.’’
Ranking Member PORTMAN got this
provide guidance for annual whistle- Let me appreciate the Presiding Offi-
commonsense bill into the Homeland
blower training for all IG employees. cer’s support about what I am going to
Security and Governmental Affairs
My cosponsors and I have an interest speak today to address one of the most
Committee as part of the bill in front
in keeping our IG system strong and significant foreign policy challenges of
of us today, the Endless Frontier Act.
neutral, and that is what this bill does. I also want to thank President Biden. our time, which is the U.S.-China rela-
I encourage all of my colleagues to sup- His administration reached out to me tionship; a challenge that the Senate, I
port it and ask that the Homeland Se- and asked to be briefed on the report believe, is ready to meet with bold, bi-
curity Committee give it full consider- that we had done, and initial executive partisan action.
ation. orders that they put in place were very Just weeks ago, the Senate Foreign
I yield the floor. much in line with our recommenda- Relations Committee made history
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- when we passed the Strategic Competi-
tions, and I know they are very sup-
ator from Michigan. tion Act of 2021 by an overwhelming bi-
portive of this bill.
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, first, My legislation ensures that we are partisan vote of 21 to 1. This historic,
before my friend from Iowa leaves the holding Federal Agencies accountable bipartisan legislation is clear-eyed
floor, and he is my friend, I didn’t come when enforcing Buy American Act ac- about the challenges we face, and it is
to debate the Line 5 Pipeline that goes tivities. It adds new guardrails to the designed to meet this consequential
under the Great Lakes of Michigan, but waivers. Right now, we have waivers, moment in U.S.-China relations.
I will say that this is an aging pipeline but there has been no transparency, no Over the past few years, China has
under a precious resource called the accountability, and over the years, no accelerated its rise to power and sharp-
Great Lakes, 20 percent of the world’s training really for how to administer ened its efforts to undermine the lib-
freshwater. The Governor is really bal- it. Sometimes it is just easier to do a eral international order that brought
ancing right now what are issues that waiver than it is to do an extensive the American people and our allies so
relate to safety and trying to make search about whether there are busi- much prosperity and stability in the
sure that we don’t have a spill in the nesses in America that could do this 20th century.
Great Lakes that would just devastate work or provide a product. We invited China to be engaged in
not only our economy and way of life It also calls on products purchased by the international order. We invited
but the country’s as well. Federal Agencies to incorporate more them into the World Trade Organiza-
S. 1260 domestic content. The supply chain is tion. We invited them into an inter-
Mr. President, I always say that the so important. So much of our job cre- national forum. We opened markets
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people in Michigan can outwork, ation is in the parts that go into the with them, all with the expectation
outbuild, and outimagine anybody. product. And it helps ensure that that China, by being ultimately invited
Whether we are building the new Ford American companies aren’t undercut into the international order, would be
all-electric F–150 truck that President by cheap foreign products. part of the international order.
Biden rode yesterday when he was in Of course, rules don’t matter if no- Unfortunately, instead of playing by
Michigan or whether it is armored ve- body enforces them, so, again, it is im- the rules, China, under Xi Jinping, has
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S2758 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 19, 2021
sought to undermine them. Today, policy in American values by author- exploit lesser developed economies to
China is challenging the United States izing a broad range of human rights its own advantage. China threatens the
across every dimension of power—polit- and civil society measures to address efforts of the international community
ical, diplomatic, economic, innovation, abuses in Xinjiang with ethnic Uighurs to deal with climate change by build-
military, even cultural—and advancing and to demonstrate our commitment ing more coal-fired power plants at a
an alternative and deeply disturbing to the people of Hong Kong, Tibet, and rate that outpaces the rest of the
model for global governance based on China’s civil society. world.
old-fashioned military antagonism, It counters China’s predatory eco- So we must empower Americans, our
predatory economic practices, and dig- nomic practices by addressing their partners, and our allies to protect
ital authoritarianism. rampant intellectual property theft against these egregious efforts to un-
The breathtaking scope, scale, and and unfair state subsidies. It helps dermine human rights, security, and
urgency of these challenges demands a other countries work together to our environment. We simply cannot
policy and strategy that is genuinely counter China’s corrupt practices. turn a blind eye to China’s actions or
competitive. Because of China’s ac- China goes throughout the world hold- wish it into becoming a better inter-
tions, the national security and eco- ing itself out as being generous to na- national actor.
nomic future of the United States de- tions in Africa and Latin America and Now, I realize that in discussing the
pends on framing our relationship with elsewhere, but what it ends up being is Strategic Competition Act, I laid out a
China today through the lens of stra- a debt trap of diplomacy where these laundry list of big, structural policy
tegic competition. countries become hostage to China— issues with China that we will need to
This is not about a zero-sum rela- not only economically, but then, in a confront as a nation, but it is essential
tionship or resurrecting a cold war transactional basis, China says, Well, that the United States meets this mo-
mentality. This is about recognizing you can’t recognize Taiwan anymore; ment if we hope to build a more perfect
that in the 21st century, our strategic or China says, You have to vote with us world, one that reflects our cherished
competition will revolve around the at the U.N. Human Rights Commission commitment to free societies, free
geo-economics of the future and Amer- and a whole host of other international markets, freedom of expression, free-
ica’s ability to successfully compete in forums. dom of movement, and the dignity of
new and emerging technologies and And it bolsters U.S. economic all humankind. At the end of the day,
other hotly contested domains. This is statecraft, those economics tools we that is what this Strategic Competi-
about securing a regional and inter- can deploy to advance our foreign pol- tion Act is all about.
national order for the 21st century icy goals like investing in supply chain So I look forward to a robust debate
built on progressive values, one that security, infrastructure development, and discussion with my colleagues over
encourages healthy and fair economic digital connectivity, and cyber secu- the next week or two about how to re-
competition, promotes global security rity. structure and rework U.S. policy to-
and stability, and strengthens human Now, I do want to take a couple of wards China so that we can be, after
rights around the world. minutes today to directly address an far too long, genuinely competitive.
So how do we achieve this vision? emerging line of criticism I have heard Together, we have to ensure the United
Ranking Member RISCH and I incor- that this bill is somehow seeking to ig- States reclaims our place as a leader of
porated input from almost every mem- nite a new cold war with China. Noth- nations and a force for good in a cha-
ber of the committee to build the Stra- ing could be further from the truth. otic and increasingly complex world.
tegic Competition Act. I believe the The reality is that for more than 40
MIDDLE EAST
Presiding Officer had amendments as years, the United States has sought to
well, which mobilizes all of our stra- draw China into the international com- Mr. President, now, on another note,
tegic, economic, and diplomatic tools munity as a responsible stakeholder. I know we have great challenges in the
to clearly confront the challenges But any clear and accurate assessment world. We are having a great challenge
China possesses to our national and of China’s behavior and, particularly, in the Middle East. I would just simply
economic security. its behavior in recent years under the say that I am not a fan of having reso-
So I am eager to see the Strategic hypernationalist leadership of Xi lutions brought to the floor of the Sen-
Competition Act move on the floor, Jinping suggests that simply con- ate without the appropriate consider-
alongside the other pieces of this pack- tinuing down that path would only re- ation of the committee of jurisdic-
age, recognizing, as I have for years, sult in disaster for the United States, tion—in this case, the Senate Foreign
that America’s ability to compete with for China, and for the entire world. Relations Committee—so that in-
China begins at home, replenishing the Let’s just review some of China’s ac- formed, deliberate debate and con-
sources of our national strength. That tions. China is committing genocide in sensus agreements come together in
is why the investments in the Endless Xinjiang against the Uighur people the best pursuit of foreign policy.
Frontier Act provisions and the other through forced labor. China has dis- It is easy to get caught up in the pas-
domestic measures drafted by various missed, out of hand, the ruling of the sions of the moment. It is much more
committees are equally important. International Tribunal for the Law of difficult to think about what is the
But even if we did all of those things the Sea with regards to its excessive right policy and procedure and action
alone, it would not meet our challenge maritime claims in the South China the United States should take in any
with China because, first and foremost, Sea, which it is militarily building up given part of the world.
China is a foreign policy challenge. on and trying to intercede in the right- So I know there is a bunch of resolu-
That is why the Strategic Competition ful passage of nations in the South tions that are being flown around—
Act reaffirms our alliances and part- China Sea. none of which have gone to the com-
nerships. It prioritizes building func- China has walked away from the mittee—some that have merit in each
tional, problem-solving regional archi- commitments it made to respect intel- and every dimension but also have
tecture in our Indo-Pacific strategy. lectual property rights. China has cho- challenges. They fall short of what I
Every witness we had before the com- sen to betray its legally binding obliga- think would need to be done, and I
mittee, as we prepared for this legisla- tions and its own commitments to the would urge colleagues to, particularly
tion, said, You have to get your Indo- people of Hong Kong, crushing ‘‘one at this moment, have restraint, and I
Pacific strategy right in order to be country, two systems’’ and the vibrant would urge the ability for the com-
able to meet the challenge of China democracy, economic activity, and au- mittee to be able to consider what is
under Xi Jinping. tonomy of the people of Hong Kong. the appropriate course of action,
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
It promotes U.S. leadership within China refuses to respect the reli- whether it be at this time or any other
international organizations. It gious, cultural, and linguistic auton- time, as our Nation faces global chal-
counters malign efforts by the People’s omy of the Tibetan people and is seek- lenges.
Republic of China and the Chinese ing to subvert the religious succession I yield the floor.
Communist Party to influence those of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. China The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
institutions, and it grounds our foreign is using its Belt and Road Initiative to ator from Iowa.
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May 19, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2759
ECONOMIC RECOVERY This may have made some sense a back to work have that basic unem-
Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, during year ago, when there was plenty of un- ployment benefit. Nobody is begrudg-
my recent travels across Iowa on my certainty. But due to the success of Op- ing that, but I think it is clear that we
99-county tour, I couldn’t help but no- eration Warp Speed, we now have vac- have made some mistakes here.
tice the number of ‘‘Help Wanted’’ or cines; and COVID cases, hospitaliza- Now, many of us were concerned
‘‘Now Hiring’’ signs on storefronts tions, and deaths are trending down. about this when it initially came up,
along nearly every highway and Main Despite thousands being out of work and we were not able to turn back the
Street. in Siouxland, local businesses can’t additional bonus at the time, though
In an era where we seem to live find the workers they need. The store the predictions were just too true
through one unprecedented occurrence manager of Sam’s Mini Mart says: about what might happen.
after another, the dire job situation ‘‘People come in here and say, why What small businesses in Missouri
has become the latest extraordinary work when I don’t have to, when unem- are saying is pretty consistent all over
event as millions of Americans remain ployment’s going to pay me?’’ He goes the State. In St. Louis, the manager of
unemployed, despite an abundance of on to say: ‘‘We’ve even upped our Mary Ann’s Tea Room said: ‘‘It is
jobs that need to be filled. wages, our starting wages, and nothing heartbreaking that the business is
In fact, the number of available jobs seems to work.’’ there, but I can’t hire anyone.’’ And
has reached an alltime record high, 8.1 Paying people not to work is not that restaurant was forced to just close
million positions that need to be filled. helpful. It is delaying us from return- down because they didn’t have enough
And 44 percent of all small business ing to normal, prepandemic life. For workers.
owners have openings they cannot fill, our businesses in Iowa, ‘‘normal’’ In Kansas City, the president of the
another record. What makes this all means operating at full capacity. Big Biscuit restaurant said: ‘‘We’ve
the more stunning is that the Nation’s If we are going to begin erasing the never had a hiring drought like this be-
unemployment rate increased last damages caused by the last year of the fore.’’ And according to him, he said,
month to 6.1 percent. There are now pandemic and get our economy moving there is ‘‘no doubt we are up against
more than 9 million jobless Americans, again, we cannot continue to let Demo- unemployment that has been artifi-
and nearly a third of those have been crats disincentivize work. cially increased and stimulus payments
unemployed for a year or more. Thankfully, in Iowa, our great Gov- that give people the opportunity not to
In Iowa, the number of unemployed ernor, Kim Reynolds, has already show up for work.’’
slowly inched upwards in February and In Branson, just as the busy summer
taken steps to curb the excessive Fed-
March, and we continue to have more season is getting underway, the general
eral unemployment that has kept
job openings than we do job seekers. manager at Mel’s Hard Luck Diner
Iowans on the sidelines and created
There are more than 62,000 job listings says he is so short-staffed that they
these challenges for our employers.
posted on the Iowa Workforce Develop- have to close Sunday evenings now—a
Now, we need to do more nationwide.
ment website, which exceeds the total
As a senior member of the Senate Com- time when they would normally be
number of Iowans filing for unemploy-
mittee on Small Business and Entre- open, just to compensate for the fact
ment benefits.
The jobs span a variety of occupa- preneurship, I am hoping to lead a bi- that they don’t have enough people to
tions and locations in the State, and cameral effort to end the enhanced do the 7 evenings and 7 days of business
employers are desperate to fill them. perks at the Federal level. The Get that they were used to doing. He says
The police department of Iowa City is Americans Back to Work Act, which I he can’t even get people to show up for
urgently trying to hire 10 officers and helped put forward, decreases the extra a job interview, let alone show up to
is offering a $5,000 signing bonus to new Federal unemployment benefits to $150 work.
recruits. And I should note that an- per week at the end of this month and Just down the street in Branson, at
other factor here could be the ongoing then fully repeals them at the end of one of the great theme parks in Amer-
efforts to defund the police being June. ica, the Silver Dollar City Theme Park,
pushed by folks on the left. It is time for Congress, the Biden ad- they told me a couple of weeks ago
The owner of the Blind Pig res- ministration, and State leaders across that they could hire 150 people the next
taurant in Cedar Rapids is paying high- the country to do their jobs and help day—that would still be their view, by
er wages plus a $500 sign-on bonus, but Americans get back to work. the way—if they could find 150 people.
even that isn’t enough to attract work- With that, I yield the floor. They have 150 jobs, and they have more
ers. He says in the past he would get up The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. customers than they have people, so
to 50 applicants when he placed a ‘‘Help ROSEN). The Senator from Missouri. not everybody could get in the park
Wanted’’ notice, but now he might get Mr. BLUNT. Madam President, I was that would normally be able to come to
2. Yep, that is it. Two, he said, if he is watching Senator ERNST give this the park.
lucky. speech. And as to that ‘‘Help Wanted’’ In Columbia, right in the middle of
So what gives? Part of the problem is sign, I thought I was back in Spring- our State, the owner of Just Jeff’s said:
that the government pays folks more field, MO, my hometown, where I was ‘‘There’s not a person that I come into
to stay home than to go to work. this weekend. There were occasions contact with . . . as a businessowner or
I have heard from restaurant owners when I was driving down a block, and I manager or something like that, that
in Bellevue who need about 36 employ- started looking to see if there was a isn’t in a terrible pinch right now for
ees between their two locations and place that didn’t have a ‘‘Help Wanted’’ help.’’
can only find 20. They have been forced sign up. They were everywhere—‘‘Help That is just a snapshot of all we are
to suspend plans to expand, costing ad- Wanted’’ signs, hiring bonuses, rates seeing. I talked to one person who runs
ditional jobs and stifling economic de- well above the minimum wage. Our a family hotel chain. It is a big family
velopment. minimum wage is $10.30 in our State. hotel chain based in St. Louis. He said:
Similarly, the owner of a small busi- There were rates well above that being We have the customers now who are
ness in Cedar Rapids that offers good- advertised on the ‘‘Help Wanted’’ signs. coming back, but we don’t have the
paying jobs that don’t require a college You know, we all were disappointed help. We could fill more rooms than we
degree was turned down by three sepa- by the job numbers that were issued at are filling if we had people who could
rate people because they chose to stay the end of April. But, obviously, the clean the rooms and get them ready
on unemployment instead. job numbers didn’t reflect the fact that the next day.
I have also heard from folks who run there weren’t jobs to be had. It was just Businesses are ready to be back and
in-home care services in West Des that there weren’t people taking the be fully open, but they don’t have the
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
Moines and Cedar Rapids about their jobs to be had. workers they need.
difficulties hiring providers for their We need to think about everything We had an amendment in the CARES
professional care teams. Again, this is we can to create an environment where Act, one of the five bipartisan bills we
all due, in large part, to the Federal people want to go back to work, where passed last year, that would have pre-
Government’s excessive unemployment people are encouraged to go back to vented people from making more when
perks. work, and where people who can’t go they are unemployed than when they
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S2760 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 19, 2021
are working. I said at the time, when I not be something that States, one at a stepped in with 20 other States and
voted for that amendment, that I was time, reject. We need to get our econ- have ended the unemployment assist-
concerned that these enhanced unem- omy back on track as quickly as pos- ance, but we have had to take it the
ployment benefits would really create sible. next step because we have so many job
a time when people didn’t want to go There is virtue in work, and I hope openings in our State. We are literally
back to work, and, unfortunately, that we make work more appealing again giving a $1,200 bonus to anyone who
is exactly what happened in Missouri than not working. will go back to work. For the first
and around the country. Thank you. 20,000 people who will actually get off
It has been a tough year, we all know The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- of unemployment benefits and go back
that, for small business owners. We ator from Oklahoma. to work, we are paying a $1,200 bonus
stepped up and tried to think of early Mr. LANKFORD. Madam President, to those individuals to return to work.
ways to keep people on their payrolls in February of this year, there was bi- What in the world? Why would we have
rather than on the unemployment partisan conversation about what is
to do this as a State? Our State is tak-
rolls. By the way, even at that time, the next step dealing with COVID. We
ing leadership, and I am grateful to
many of those businesses were saying, knew we were coming out of it. Vac-
Governor Stitt and his continued lead-
well, that is a great idea. We would cines were going in arms. States were
ership to be able to help navigate our
like to keep them on our payroll, but opening up. My State in Oklahoma was
economy and our families. But why
they can make more money on the un- rapidly opening in February, and there
would we want to have a situation
was this dialogue about what would
employment rolls. Is that fair to them, where we have literally disincentivized
happen in the economy.
to not let them go to this unemploy- work and encouraged people to not re-
Unfortunately, in the middle of that
ment that the government and its poli- dialogue, my Democratic colleagues turn to work? What Governor Stitt has
cies made so appealing? determined: We were going to go this set up is an encouragement to actually
They were trying to fight the worst get back to work. That is better for
on our own.
public health crisis ever and trying to We still stay engaged. One of the big families. That is better for children.
keep businesses afloat. Now they are issues, though, was unemployment. That is better for our economy.
trying to figure out: As we come out of Would there be additional unemploy- Right now in Oklahoma, if you are
the public health crisis, what do we do ment benefits that would be done? going to build anything—and I mean
to keep that business going? Now, myself and multiple others build anything—good luck finding
You know, that misguided govern- raised the issue on both sides of the building supplies. And it is not because
ment policy—that comment Ronald aisle: How would this be handled? we don’t have lumber. It is not because
Reagan used to make—is one of the If it was a year before—literally, in we don’t have bricks. It is not because
scariest things you could hear: ‘‘I am March of 2020, there was an extension we don’t have windows and shingles
from the government, and I am here to of unemployment because unemploy- and all those things. Good luck getting
help.’’ This seems to be a case where ment was at 15 percent at that point, it because they can’t get enough labor
that truly has been a scary thing: The and there were no jobs to be had. But to actually do the manufacturing. So
government, trying to help, trying to in March of this year, when the agree- everyone is running behind simply be-
reach out and do what at least a major- ment was finally made and a straight cause there is a shortage of labor be-
ity of our colleagues thought was the partisan bill was passed, we weren’t at cause we are incentivizing people to
right thing, has created a situation 15 percent unemployment. It was at 6 stay home rather than to be able to
that is different than it needs to be. percent and driving down to the floor. come back.
Twenty-one States have now either Now we are below 4 percent. Shots are in arms. Our rates of
decided to stop participating already The challenge that we have is, there COVID have decreased dramatically. It
or have announced that they are going is additional unemployment benefits is time for us to return to work. But
to stop participating. Governor Parson that have extended all the way until now we are going to have a situation
in Missouri made that decision. As September. where we have right now—where half
Senator ERNST mentioned, the Gov- Now, that bill passed—a straight par- the country is incentivized to stay
ernor of Iowa has made and 19 other tisan bill—in March. By the Sunday home. Now you have 21 States—slight-
Governors have made that decision. after Palm Sunday, when I was back in ly less than half the country—that are
The average unemployment benefit my State, I was already having trying to incentivize people to get back
in the States in America right now is businessowners catching me and say- to work.
$618 a week. That is the average. That ing: What in the world? I can’t hire We need, as a nation, to incentivize
includes the $300 that the Federal Gov- now because I am competing for wages work and to encourage families to be
ernment has put into every one of with someone in the Federal Govern- able to be engaged in productive activi-
those checks that are still going out at ment. ties. It is right for families. It is right
that level. That is $15.46 an hour. Cer- What has that meant for right now? for our economy. It is certainly right
tainly, one way to mandate a $15 hour- Now and May, what does that mean for for us as a nation. And I thank Gov-
ly pay rate is just to decide that is us in Oklahoma? ernor Stitt for his leadership in this
what you are going to make if you are In Oklahoma, there are 37 percent area and for what we continue to do,
unemployed. Well, it hasn’t worked. It more jobs available now than there but we have to get back to basic poli-
won’t work. Our State of Missouri and were a year and a half ago before the cies that don’t disincentivize work.
other States are moving away from pandemic began, when we were at the I yield the floor.
this. best economy in 50 years. Literally, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
In Washington, we make policies, and there are more job openings in Okla- ator from Ohio.
one of our responsibilities is to be sure homa now than there have ever been in Mr. PORTMAN. Madam President,
that we are keeping an eye on unin- the history of our records. let me say that I agree with my col-
tended consequences. The law of unin- Let me run that past everybody league from Oklahoma who just talked
tended consequences is one of the great again. There are more openings in about the impact of the Federal supple-
certainties of making law, and we need Oklahoma right now for jobs than ever ment on unemployment that was
to watch out for that. We have a huge in the history of our recordkeeping for passed here in this Chamber and signed
unintended consequence here. We saw our State, but we can’t fill jobs because into law by the President. It is time to
what happened when now the Biden ad- people are making so much money on end it because the situation has
ministration is trying to explain why unemployment and they get the first changed dramatically, hasn’t it?
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
it is not their policies that appear to be $10,000 of that written off on their Back when the unemployment addi-
slowing the recovery down, but we all taxes. Those two pieces together tional benefit from the Federal Gov-
know that this is part of that problem. incentivize people, literally, to be able ernment was put in place, we had peo-
We have done something to cause to stay home. ple who couldn’t go to work. Thanks to
this problem. We need to figure out Our State has had to take a pretty COVID, businesses actually were shut
how to solve this problem. This should radical step, quite frankly. We have down, many by government edict.
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May 19, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2761
There were people who lost their jobs So this is a problem right now, and be a good thing, a more efficient econ-
through no fault of their own. There- we should face it. By the way, it is in omy. I want people at work. I want
fore, this Chamber stood up and said: the interest of everybody to resolve companies to be hiring more people.
OK, for those people, we ought to pro- this issue. It is in the interest of the A good friend of mine is a manufac-
vide a Federal supplement on top of the small businesses that can’t find people. turer. She has about 200 people. She
State unemployment insurance in Some of these businesses are literally makes a great product—windows—in
order to make them whole, essentially. shutting down. Geordie’s, a restaurant Ohio, southwest Ohio, Hamilton, OH.
Initially it was $600. Now it is $300. in Columbus, OH, is closed. They lit- She is looking for 60 people right now.
That is on top of the State unemploy- erally closed because they can’t find Sixty people. She is offering a signing
ment. workers. Other restaurants all over the bonus of a thousand bucks and offering
Now you have an exact opposite situ- State of Ohio are going 5 days a week other benefits. People aren’t showing
ation. You have all these jobs that are instead of 6 or 7 days a week or cutting up. But when the $300 ends and when
open. I just learned that in Oklahoma, a shift because they can’t find workers. the additional $10,000 of unemployment
it is a record number. Guess what. It is So it is definitely helpful for those insurance not being taxed ends, people
a record number nationally as well: 8.1 small businesses and for all businesses, will go back to work.
million jobs are being offered right but, second, it is great for the taxpayer The first State to decide ‘‘You know
now. That is more jobs than we have to not have to pay that extra 300 bucks what, we are going to unilaterally just
ever had open in the United States of a week. It is billions of dollars, tens of say we are not going to take the $300‘‘
America, and it is happening right billions of dollars, even hundreds of bil- was the State of Montana. My col-
now. lions of dollars when it is all added to- league from Montana told me recently
At the same time, you have people on gether, compared to what it would be that he has a friend who is a hotel
unemployment insurance who are get- under current law, where the $300 sup- owner, and he was having a job fair
ting the additional $300 on top of the plement goes until Labor Day—Labor every week trying to get people to
State benefit. In Ohio, the average is Day—with 8.1 million jobs open right come in to apply for jobs. He was get-
$360 plus $300, so 660 bucks a week. now. ting about one applicant per week. The
Plus, the first $10,000 is not taxed. So if Finally, I would argue it is particu- week after the Governor said no more
you are a truckdriver making 40,000 larly good for workers to get back to $600 or no more $300 benefit on unem-
bucks a year, you are being taxed, but work, to get back to their careers, to ployment insurance in addition to the
if you are on unemployment insurance, get back to the training they need to State benefit, 60 people showed up.
your first $10,000 of UI is not being keep up with what is going on at work. That may be an extreme example, but
taxed. How is that fair? It is not in anybody’s interest to I have to tell you, it is going to make
Well, it creates an additional dis- have folks not back in the workforce. a big difference.
incentive to go to work. I am not say- We should all want people to be back at Let’s help get this economy going
ing it is the only reason people aren’t work getting the fulfillment you get again. We are turning the corner on
going back to work, but if you talk to COVID. We have a situation now where
from work and the dignity and self-re-
the small business folks in your State, we can actually get started again, get
spect that come from work, but getting
you will find it is one of the big rea- the businesses reopened.
a paycheck and getting healthcare in- I talked about the business owner in
sons. I think it is the biggest one. surance again and getting back into
Another one is that people are having Columbus, OH, who was closed down.
their 401(k) plans and, again, closing Do you know what his comment was?
a tough time finding childcare. I get that resume gap so they are up to
that. Childcare is expensive. Part of He said: I used the PPP program.
speed on the training. That is the Paycheck Protection Pro-
the solution to that, of course, is to get I will tell you what is happening, and gram, which we all passed here.
the kids back to school. Fifty-four per- this is what concerns me and I think I got through COVID. We struggled,
cent of K–8 schools are back in busi- should concern every Member of this but we made it through COVID. We
ness, but the rest aren’t. Schools being Chamber. Businesses are adjusting. Do could make it through COVID, but now
closed makes it really tough for par- you know what they are doing? They we can’t make it because of our own
ents to go back to work because one are not just shutting down. They are government paying people more not to
parent has to be there to take care of not just closed 2 days a week. They are work on unemployment insurance than
the kids. That is true. not just cutting out a shift. Some of we can pay them to work.
Then, finally, there is an issue of the them are changing the way they oper- He feels like his own government has
skills gap. I get that. The jobs that are ate in order to be more efficient. What turned on him.
available, some of them are skilled does that mean? That means, when you That is not helping anybody. It is not
jobs. There are 720,000 manufacturing can’t find workers, you turn to tech- helping the small businesses, it is cer-
jobs in America open right now—right nology, you turn to automation. And it tainly not helping the taxpayer, and it
now. Yet a lot of them do require a is happening. is not helping those individuals who
skill level that, unfortunately, our sys- I know there are Members of this are not getting back to work, back to
tem of education and training has not Chamber who think that by giving their routines, back to the training,
prepared people for. This is why our more money to people, this is a very back to the 401(k) plan, back to their
young people need to be given more op- smart thing to do and it is helping ev- healthcare plan, and having the oppor-
portunities to get those industry-rec- erybody. It is not helping because tunity to achieve their American
ognized certificates to become a welder those jobs are not going to be there in dream.
or become a technician or become a the future. I hope that we change our minds here
coder in the IT world or become a There was a story in the Washington and don’t continue this until Sep-
truckdriver, because we need those Post today about Huntington Banc- tember 6 and decide, instead, let’s get
skills badly. shares. It is a bank in Columbus, OH. people back to work.
But the biggest reason, again, that I They are fielding literally dozens of I would also be for a $100-a-week sign-
am hearing all over my State of Ohio is calls from business owners who are try- ing bonus if people were to go back to
the fact that people are saying: You ing to get financing to buy more equip- work. I think that would be a good use
know what, I am making what I can ment that will offset their loss in of funding. Let’s, say, do that for 6
make on UI, and that is more than I workers; in other words, more automa- weeks and at the same time stop the
can make at work. For 42 percent of tion, more technology that they would $300 Federal supplement. By doing
Americans, on average, that is true. not have otherwise gone to, but be- that, those 8-million-plus jobs that are
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
Forty-two percent are making more on cause they can’t find any workers, they available right now would start to get
UI. That is not even including the fact are using their money they would have filled, and we could really get our econ-
that the first $10,000 is tax-free. In paid workers to go to more technology. omy back on track.
Ohio, it is more than double the min- Those jobs are gone. I yield back my time.
imum wage. That is what people are I know, again, some people, maybe on The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
making. my side of the aisle, think that might ator from Mississippi.
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S2762 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 19, 2021
Mr. WICKER. Madam President, my employment funds in order to help our are the hardest working people in the
friend from Ohio is correct. In many re- State embark on a full recovery. Near- world. American businesses want to
spects, it ought to feel like morning ly half of all Governors now share the hire. Yet Joe Biden and Big Govern-
again in America. After all, COVID–19 same mind and are saying no to those ment are getting in the way.
is finally on the retreat. The vaccines unnecessary funds. President Biden has actually ex-
have been a roaring success because of Madam President, the American peo- tended bonus payments until Sep-
Operation Warp Speed. One hundred ple elected a 50–50 Senate and a nar- tember. We are now in May. May, June,
and twenty-four million Americans are rowly divided House. They do not want July, August, September—month after
now fully immunized, and another 30 drastic changes or dramatic growth of month, after month, after month of
million are halfway there. With the ex- government. They simply want to put more of this. This is a grave danger to
ception of a few holdout States, the this pandemic behind them and get small businesses across America. If
mask mandates are gone, thank good- back to providing for their families. they can’t find workers, they might
ness. By all measures, our economy Americans need government to get have to close again. Then those job
should be firing on all cylinders, but out of the way, and Republicans stand openings will no longer be there, and
America now has a workforce problem. with the American people and on the they will be gone forever.
People are not heading back to work. side of a full recovery. President Biden appears to be, in my
In February, the Congressional Budg- I yield the floor. opinion, in denial on this. He held a
et Office predicted our economy would The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- press conference recently, and this is
return to its prepandemic size by the ator from Wyoming. what he said: It is all ‘‘loose talk.’’
middle of the year without receiving Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, This is not loose talk. This is basic
any new stimulus from Congress. Re- first, I would like to associate myself arithmetic. Job openings are going up;
grettably, Democrats in this Chamber with the fine remarks of the Senator hiring is slowing down; and nearly half
brushed off that optimism from the from Mississippi, who sees every day, of workers make more money by stay-
CBO. They decided to pass more stim- when he is home traveling in his State, ing at home.
ulus, to the tune of $1.9 trillion. the same things I am seeing in Wyo- ‘‘Loose talk’’ is when the President
This time, the money was excessive. ming—‘‘Help Wanted’’ signs all around of the United States tells us everything
It was poorly targeted and passed with- our home States, as businesses are is just fine when it is not. April was the
out bipartisan consensus. Three looking for people to hire, and the gov- most disappointing jobs report in more
months later, the results are unflat- ernment’s incentives are making it than 20 years—two decades. Yet Presi-
tering for my Democratic friends. Last that much harder to find workers. dent Biden says the jobs report ‘‘shows
month, our economy produced a paltry Job openings right now are at a we’re on the right track.’’
266,000 jobs when experts had predicted record high in America. There were 8 No, it doesn’t. Hiring has slowed
over 1 million jobs—this at a time million jobs available going into April. down. Some say people aren’t return-
when our economy has a record 8 mil- Yet in that month, only about one- ing to work because of coronavirus.
lion jobs available, jobs that need to be quarter of a million people actually Madam President, let me tell you, it
filled. were hired. The unemployment rate ac- is very unlikely. We are vaccinating 2
Small businesses are desperate to tually went up. million people a day. One in three
hire. Restaurants, for instance, are We lost manufacturing. We lost re- Americans is now—these are adults—
having trouble finding people to be- tail. We lost healthcare jobs last fully vaccinated already. We are get-
come waiters and chefs. The National month. Construction jobs were flat. ting the virus behind us. We have been
Restaurant Association reports that, in Ten million people are unemployed very successful with Operation Warp
January, 8 percent of restaurant opera- right now, even though there are 8 mil- Speed.
tors said finding and keeping workers lion job openings. We should be filling the 8 million
was their No. 1 concern. That number Every Senator I talk to says that jobs available right now. Yet what are
doubled in February. It doubled again there are ‘‘Help Wanted’’ signs all President Biden and the Democrats
in March and then again in April. Ac- around their home State. Nearly every doing to fix the problem? Nothing,
cording to the latest survey, 57 percent American who wants a job should be nothing at all. I believe they are mak-
of restaurant operators now say that able to find one. Yet it is really not ing it worse by extending these bonus
finding and keeping employees is their happening. payments. It is time the President and
biggest problem. The same problem ex- The question has been asked and an- Democrats worked for a solution.
ists across multiple sectors—hotels, swered on this floor by various Mem- You know, I am proud that the peo-
construction, lawn care, welding, tech. bers of the Republican Party: Why ple of Wyoming and the Governor of
The list goes on. can’t small businesses find workers? Wyoming have done just that. Wyo-
Americans would be streaming back Why are so many of these jobs unfilled? ming has taken a leadership role, along
into the workforce if not for the coun- Because something like this doesn’t with approximately 20 other States, in
terproductive policies passed by the just happen on its own. Oh, no. This ending these bonus payments. It is
majority. Government is now paying happens as a direct result of the Presi- going to give our economy a boost. It is
millions of able-bodied Americans to dent’s policies. going to lead to more hiring.
stay home, to stay home when they President Biden and Democrats are It is time for President Biden and the
could be back on the job. Expanded un- paying people to stay home. That is Democrats to follow the successful lead
employment benefits have become a why so many people are staying home. of the people of Wyoming. Stop paying
hindrance to our recovery rather than They are being paid more to not work people a bonus to stay home. Reward
a help, just as many of us had warned. than to work. According to one anal- the hard work that is a part of America
March 2020 was a unique moment of ysis, nearly half of all people on unem- and Americans’ DNA.
emergency that called for urgent finan- ployment benefits with the unemploy- I yield the floor.
cial relief for the American people. ment benefit bonus payment—the extra The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
This body passed it on a sweeping bi- check—are making more money by ator from Kansas.
partisan basis. But it is now May of staying at home than they would make Mr. MARSHALL. Madam President,
2021. The hour of emergency has if they go to work. earlier this month, the Department of
passed. Americans need policies to help These people aren’t lazy. Oh, no. Labor’s jobs report showed an uptick of
them reenter the workforce. When the President and Democrats the unemployment rate to 6.1 percent
Fortunately, millions of Americans offer people free money to stay home, and employers only adding 266,000 jobs,
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
have Governors who are pushing back it is perfectly logical—people take despite widespread projections of ap-
against Washington’s pay-to-stay-at- them up on the offer. proximately 1 million jobs to be gained
home policies. Governor Tate Reeves, I believe the American people want in April.
in my State of Mississippi, is one ex- to work. That is what I see at home in To call this a dismal jobs report
ample. I commend Governor Reeves for Wyoming. That is who we are. That is would be an understatement. It was the
opting out of the expanded Federal un- the fiber of the American people. We worst jobs miss since 1998. Yet it is not
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May 19, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2763
surprising considering the many con- Coupled with the trillions of Federal ture. I thank him for his collaborative
versations I have had with Kansans dollars that have gone out the door so work on this process.
throughout my travels. I have heard far, we are beginning to see inflation. No one probably relished the speed at
constantly how employers are strug- In fact, the Department of Labor’s re- which we moved through on this bill
gling to find people for open jobs, cently released consumer price index from our committee perspective, but,
largely because folks are staying at for April showed the largest spike in nonetheless, I think the committee ac-
home due to the increased unemploy- inflation since 2008. tually had a lot of joy in the fact that
ment dollars and the stimulus checks There are a record 8 million jobs— we were at regular order and could
that Democrats continue to push. that is 8 million opportunities waiting process so many amendments and have
Earlier this year, Democrats forced to be filled across this country. In my that diverse of a conversation. The sub-
through legislation—without any Re- home State of Kansas, we have 57,000 ject matter, in and of itself, is so im-
publican support—that provided $300 job openings, and the March labor re- portant—it really is—to get this right.
more per week in Federal unemploy- port shows over 58,000 Kansans received When I think about our attempts at
ment benefits. This additional benefit, unemployment insurance. America COMPETES in 2007 and 2010,
when coupled with the extended unem- While there are certainly people who we were enthusiastic, but we didn’t
ployment benefits offered by States, al- need access to increased unemploy- convince the rest of everybody to put
ready means that the average recipient ment benefits during the heart of this the money behind it. It makes me
is making $15 to $20 per hour to stay pandemic, unemployment insurance think that I am glad we are creating
home. was never meant to be a permanent more of a robust debate about why this
Democrats have made it more profit- salary replacement. competitive issue is so important.
able for many Americans to stay unem- Rather, the benefit is meant to pro- AMENDMENT NOS. 1517 AND 1547
ployed. That is because these policies vide temporary assistance while folks Madam President, I ask unanimous
are not intended to help our economic get back on their feet. The government consent that the following amend-
recovery. They are intended to reform should not be in the business of cre- ments be called up and reported by
our American system and create more ating lucrative government depend- number: the Tillis-Hirono amendment
dependency on the government. ency that makes it more beneficial to No. 1517 and the Scott-Johnson amend-
This leap toward socialism comes at stay unemployed rather than return to ment No. 1547; further, that at 4 p.m.
a time when our Nation is on its way to work. That is called socialism. today the Senate vote in relation to
reaching herd immunity and businesses Nearly half of the States have halted the amendments in the order listed,
are emerging from government-im- the additional benefits, and I have with no amendments in order prior to
posed lockdowns. Now President Biden called for the Democratic Governor those votes in relation to the amend-
has delivered them a government-fund- from my home State to do the same. ments, with 60 affirmative votes re-
ed labor shortage. Unfortunately, no State in the Union quired for adoption, and 2 minutes of
I recently heard from a wonderful with a Democratic executive has debate, equally divided, between the
small business in my hometown of stepped up and dropped the benefits, two votes.
Great Bend, KS, that are short-staffed despite many of these States having The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there
by some 70 employees—that is 70 em- the highest unemployment rates in the objection?
ployees they are short-staffed. They country. Instead, Democrats in Con- Mr. WICKER. Reserving the right to
are unable to match the strong incen- gress are moving to make the enhanced object—and I shall certainly not ob-
tive to stay home provided by the Fed- benefits permanent. ject—I simply want to say that this is
eral unemployment benefits in order to For all these reasons, last week, 15 of the beginning of what I hope is an open
rehire their workforce. The company’s my colleagues joined me in introducing amendment process, and I want to
mission is to provide educational and the Get Americans Back to Work Act, thank the chair of the Commerce Com-
work opportunities for people with de- which decreases Federal unemploy- mittee for working with us to get these
velopmental disabilities, giving nearly ment benefits to $150 per week at the first two amendment votes scheduled
200 individuals in the area the inde- end of May and then fully repeals them this afternoon. And I certainly with-
pendence, inclusion, and training that altogether at the end of June. Not only draw my reservation.
they need to achieve success. This will this help get people back to work The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there
labor shortage directly affects their but the savings generated can be used objection?
ability to meet the needs of the people to pay for roads and bridges. Without objection, it is so ordered.
they serve. Let me close by saying ‘‘work’’ is not The clerk will report the amend-
I have heard stories from manufac- a four-letter, dirty word. A job brings ments by number.
turers across Kansas struggling to re- dignity and purpose to all who have The senior assistant legislative clerk
call their workers, despite offering gen- one. Over the past year, we have made read as follows:
erous benefits and high-wage jobs or great strides to develop safe and effec-
The Senator from North Carolina [Mr.
restaurants remaining closed because tive vaccines. Because more Americans TILLIS], for himself and others, proposes an
they don’t have enough employees for are getting their shots, we have seen amendment numbered 1517.
their basic operations. COVID cases decline to nearly a quar-
The amendment is as follows:
Homes aren’t being built because of a ter of where they were in January. Now
(Purpose: To amend chapter 11 of title 35,
lack of labor, and hotels are turning is the time for folks to get back to
United States Code, to require the vol-
away business because they don’t have work, to get our kids back in school, untary collection of demographic informa-
employees. One company even shared a and get our economy back to tion for patent inventors, and for other
story of offering a high-skilled and prepandemic levels. purposes)
high-wage position only to be turned I yield the floor. At the appropriate place, insert the fol-
down because the prospective employee S. 1260 lowing:
claimed they were comfortable on un- The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. WAR- SEC. lll. COLLECTION OF DEMOGRAPHIC IN-
employment, and the hours clashed REN). The Senator from Washington. FORMATION FOR PATENT INVEN-
Ms. CANTWELL. Madam President, TORS.
with the local bowling league.
We have seen the broader supply if I could just say something, for a sec- (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 11 of title 35,
United States Code, is amended by adding at
chain begin to feel the impacts, as a ond, while the Senator from Mississippi
the end the following:
lack of truckdrivers means that build- is here. It has been one of the great
‘‘§ 124. Collection of demographic information
ing materials, computer chips, and joys to collaborate with Senator
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
for patent inventors
common household goods like tooth- WICKER on so many important policies
‘‘(a) VOLUNTARY COLLECTION.—The Director
paste and toilet paper can’t reach their last year, working on everything from
shall provide for the collection of demo-
destination, or food processing plants aviation to maritime and foreign graphic information, including gender, race,
are short-staffed and turning out less issues, and now working on this legis- military or veteran status, and any other de-
product than usual, driving up the cost lation and infrastructure and on many mographic category that the Director deter-
for consumers. things that we want to do for the fu- mines appropriate, related to each inventor
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S2764 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 19, 2021
listed with an application for patent, that ‘‘124. Collection of demographic informa- tory, stopping that pipeline, but, sadly,
may be submitted voluntarily by that inven- tion for patent inventors.’’. Putin resumed building the pipeline
tor. The senior assistant legislative clerk shortly after Joe Biden was elected.
‘‘(b) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.—The Di-
rector shall— read as follows: Yesterday, President Biden made the
‘‘(1) keep any information submitted under The Senator from Florida [Mr. SCOTT of decision to refuse to enforce the bipar-
subsection (a) confidential and separate from Florida], for himself and others, proposes an tisan sanctions on the company build-
the application for patent; and amendment numbered 1547. ing the pipeline for Putin.
‘‘(2) establish appropriate procedures to en- The amendment is as follows: If that wasn’t enough, it is clear the
sure—
(Purpose: To direct unobligated amounts
Biden administration does know how
‘‘(A) the confidentiality of any information to shut down pipelines—the Keystone
made available under coronavirus relief
submitted under subsection (a); and Pipeline. His first day in office, Joe
legislation for purposes of carrying out
‘‘(B) that demographic information is not Biden signed an Executive order shut-
this Act)
made available to examiners or considered in ting down the Keystone Pipeline, de-
the examination of any application for pat- At the appropriate place in title III of divi-
ent. sion F, add the following: stroying 11,000 jobs, including 8,000
‘‘(c) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.— SEC. 6lll. USE OF PREVIOUSLY APPRO- union jobs—all destroyed by the Biden-
‘‘(1) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.—Any PRIATED FUNDS. Harris administration. For whatever
demographic information submitted under (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any reason, the Biden-Harris administra-
subsection (a) shall be exempt from disclo- other provision of law, any amounts appro- tion seems to have a philosophy that
sure under section 552(b)(3) of title 5. priated under subtitle M of title IX of the American pipelines and American jobs
‘‘(2) FEDERAL INFORMATION POLICY LAW.— American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public are bad, but Russian pipelines and Rus-
Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44 shall Law 117–2) for purposes of providing assist-
sian jobs are apparently good. And
not apply to the collection of demographic ance to State and local governmental enti-
information under subsection (a). ties that are unobligated on the date of en- Russian hackers should get rewarded
‘‘(d) PUBLICATION OF DEMOGRAPHIC INFOR- actment of this Act shall be made available with Putin getting billions of dollars
MATION.— for purposes of carrying out this Act, includ- because Joe Biden refuses to stand up
‘‘(1) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 ing the amendments made by this Act. to Putin.
year after the date of enactment of this sec- (b) ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS.— On the impact here at home of the
tion, and not later than January 31 of each (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any Russian hacking, Colonial Pipeline
year thereafter, the Director shall make pub- other provision of law, if the amounts made transports 100 million gallons of fuel
licly available a report that, except as pro- available under subsection (a) for purposes of all over the east coast every day. It is
vided in paragraph (3)— carrying out this Act, including the amend- responsible for transporting 45 percent
‘‘(A) includes the total number of patent ments made by this Act, are insufficient for
applications filed during the previous year such purposes, any amounts appropriated
of the fuel on the east coast, running
disaggregated— under any other provision of the American from Texas to New Jersey.
‘‘(i) by demographic information described Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117–2), The Colonial Pipeline is a critical
in subsection (a); and other than the provisions exempted under piece of infrastructure, and when it
‘‘(ii) by technology class number, tech- paragraph (2), that are unobligated on the shut down, it gravely disrupted the
nology class title, country of residence of the date of enactment of this Act shall be made daily lives of millions of Americans—
inventor, and State of residence of the inven- available for purposes of carrying out this fuel for cars, for aviation fuel, for heat-
tor in the United States; Act, including the amendments made by this ing homes, all completely shut down. I
‘‘(B) includes the total number of patents Act. am standing here today because one
issued during the previous year (2) EXEMPTIONS.—No amounts made avail-
thing this crisis has shown us is that
disaggregated— able under subtitle D, E, F, G, or H of title
‘‘(i) by demographic information described II, subtitle C of title III, or title V of the we need to diversify how we transport
in subsection (a); and American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public energy in this country so that if our
‘‘(ii) by technology class number, tech- Law 117–2) may be used for purposes of car- critical infrastructure is attacked
nology class title, country of residence of the rying out this Act (or amendments made by again—and we know it is going to be
inventor, and State of residence of the inven- this Act) pursuant to paragraph (1). attacked again—that we have other re-
tor in the United States; and The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- liable ways to transport energy.
‘‘(C) includes a discussion of the data col- One way to strengthen redundancy
lection methodology and summaries of the
ator from Texas.
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST—S. 1012
and to strengthen our ability to make
aggregate responses. it through another attack is to allow
‘‘(2) DATA AVAILABILITY.—In conjunction Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, in a
with issuance of the report under paragraph
liquefied natural gas, or LNG, to be
moment I will propound a unanimous
(1), the Director shall make publicly avail- transported by rail.
consent request. Before I do, I want to Last year, the Pipeline and Haz-
able data based on the demographic informa- make some brief remarks.
tion collected under subsection (a) that, ex- ardous Materials Administration final-
cept as provided in paragraph (3), allows the
Right now, gas stations all over the ized a rule allowing the safe transpor-
information to be cross-tabulated to review eastern seaboard are suffering from a tation of LNG by rail. What this rule
subgroups. week-long gas shortage that has left does is enable natural gas that is used
‘‘(3) PRIVACY.—The Director— thousands of stations completely out of for transportation, that is used for gen-
‘‘(A) may not include personally identi- gas. What we have seen is reminiscent erating electricity, for heating homes,
fying information in— of the 1970s, when Americans had to sit for manufacturing, to be transported
‘‘(i) the report made publicly available in long lines to fill their cars with gas.
under paragraph (1); or by railroad, which helps Americans in
Why are we experiencing this crisis? hard-to-reach areas access the fuel that
‘‘(ii) the data made publicly available
under paragraph (2); and
Because Russian hackers attacked the they need. It also takes pressure off of
‘‘(B) in making publicly available the re- Colonial Pipeline, which had to shut other critical infrastructure to meet
port under paragraph (1) and the data under down operations on May 7. our energy needs.
paragraph (2), shall anonymize any person- What is the reward Russia gets for Yet, now that Joe Biden is President
ally identifying information related to the attacking our infrastructure? Well, on and he has empowered officials in his
demographic information collected under the topic of Russia, just yesterday, administration who have a repeated
subsection (a). President Biden doubled down on what and demonstrated hostility to Amer-
‘‘(e) BIENNIAL REPORT.—Not later than 2
years after the date of enactment of this sec-
is becoming a consistent ‘‘soft on Rus- ican pipelines and American jobs and
tion, and every 2 years thereafter, the Direc- sia’’ position from the Biden adminis- American energy independence, this
tor shall submit to Congress a biennial re- tration, making the decision to dis- rule is in jeopardy. When the Secretary
port that evaluates the data collection proc- regard bipartisan legislation that of Transportation was before the Sen-
ess under this section, ease of access to the passed through this body seeking to ate for confirmation, I repeatedly
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
information by the public, and recommenda- shut down the Nord Stream 2 pipeline asked the Secretary to commit to
tions on how to improve data collection.’’. that Putin is desperately trying to maintaining the existing rule of allow-
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND-
MENT.—The table of sections at the begin-
complete between Russia and Ger- ing the safe transport of LNG by rail,
ning of chapter 11 of title 35, United States many. and, repeatedly, the Secretary refused
Code, is amended by adding at the end the That pipeline had been shut down. to make that commitment. The fool-
following: We had succeeded in a bipartisan vic- ishness of that position is now evident
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May 19, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2765
to everyone as we have gas lines and mulgated by the Pipeline and Haz- have already spent time on the floor
skyrocketing gas prices on the east ardous Materials Safety Administra- today to talk about some of the eco-
coast and throughout the country. tion. nomic issues—inflation, unemploy-
Therefore, Madam President, I ask The Senator from Massachusetts also ment—that are happening. There are a
unanimous consent that the Com- knows the reality that accidents by number of jobs that are open in my
mittee on Commerce, Science, and rail are very rare. While we surely State. In fact, there is a record number
Transportation be discharged from fur- don’t want to see any accidents occur of job openings in my State. There is
ther consideration of S. 1012 and that or have disruptions in transporting unrest in the Middle East right now,
the Senate proceed to its immediate LNG by rail, what we have seen by the and there are all kinds of things that
consideration. I ask unanimous con- cyber attack on the Colonial Pipeline are happening in the world.
sent that the bill be considered read a is that nothing is certain. There are Yet I can’t help, just for a moment,
third time and passed and that the mo- risks to everything, but by taking pre- pausing to be able to reflect on a friend
tion to reconsider be considered made cautions and diversifying our transpor- of mine who, in a few days, will be sit-
and laid upon the table. tation methods for fuel, we make our ting and hanging out with his 12 grand-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there energy industry more resilient to at- children and enjoying a moment of re-
an objection? tacks and accidents when they, pre- tirement.
Mr. MARKEY. Reserving the right to dictably, do happen in the future. His name is Roger Beverage. Roger
object. Furthermore, LNG is already trans- Beverage just retired as the CEO of the
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- ported by vessels and tanker trucks Oklahoma Bankers Association. He is
ator from Massachusetts. and has been for decades. Obviously, not the big banker guy. He is the com-
Mr. MARKEY. Madam President, I accidents can happen at sea or with munity banker guy. For 30 years, he
appreciate the points that my col- tanker trucks, but that doesn’t stop us led our State in banking and engaged
league from Texas is making, but the from transporting LNG in those ways. in issues from the smallest of the small
bill he is proposing to pass by unani- Accidents on railroads are rare, and if banks in rural Oklahoma to family-
mous consent has not been considered we can transport LNG by sea and in owned community banks that are scat-
by the Commerce Committee, and it tanker trucks on the road, we should tered around our State. He worked
would drastically and unilaterally tie also be able to transport it by rail, tirelessly to help individuals get access
the hands of the Department of Trans- where it is safer and more efficient and to banking who were blocked out, and
portation from protecting communities more effective. he made sure that everyone had a shot.
from having massive amounts of dan- Lastly, to cope with the shutdown, He has been a remarkable leader, and
the Department of Transportation he is just a great grandpa.
gerous, explosive liquefied natural gas
granted waivers for hours-of-service re- In the days ahead, I celebrate his get-
shipped right through their towns and
quirements to truckdrivers and Jones ting time with his 12 grandchildren be-
cities. I understand that the Repub-
Act waivers for vessels to continue to cause he has given so much to so many
licans and natural gas companies want
transport fuel to try to alleviate the others. As he spends time with his five
to railroad through the Senate a bill
shortage. That just underscores the kids—just the five kids who carry
that would undermine the safety of the
need for LNG by rail as well. around the 12 grandchildren at this
railroads in our communities, but we Unfortunately, as Americans are point—and as he spends time with his
just can’t allow this to happen. standing in gas lines, the answer they
In 2020, the Trump administration bride of 43 years, Paula, I want to say
are being given by Washington Demo- thank you to him.
moved to allow trains of 100 or more crats is, the challenges you are facing Roger wasn’t born in Oklahoma; he
cars to begin transporting liquefied don’t matter to the Democrats. What was born in Nebraska. If you know Ne-
natural gas with no additional safety we have seen from this objection is braska and Oklahoma’s long heritage
regulations. It did this over the objec- that Joe Biden and KAMALA HARRIS of football, you will know there has
tions of the attorneys general of 15 support higher gas prices—much higher been quite a rivalry for a long time.
States and the District of Columbia. gas prices that you will have to pay at Roger graduated from college and went
Firefighters opposed it. Railroad the pumps. They understand that much to law school. When he finished up law
unions that represented the railroad higher gas prices fall disproportion- school in 1971, he enlisted in the U.S.
employees objected to it. The environ- ately on low-income Americans and Army right in the middle of the Viet-
mental community objected to it as that they fall disproportionately on Af- nam era. He served 2 years in the
did the National Transportation Safety rican Americans and Hispanics. The Army, working as a lawyer. He then
Board. Biden-Harris Democrats are willing to served 6 more years in the Reserves
Listen to this: A train of 110 tank jack up your gas prices, to make you after that. He retired as Captain Bev-
cars, filled with liquefied natural gas, wait in line, and to say, essentially, erage. He is also a person who has
would have more than five times the ‘‘tough luck.’’ They have no answers, never been shy or would walk away
equivalent energy of the Hiroshima but they are going to block getting en- from a challenge and is one who has
atomic bomb. ergy for your home, for your vehicle, constantly been focused on service.
We cannot put our firefighters, our for your life, for your family. In the middle of times that people up
railway workers, and our homes and As we stand here today with a crisis here in Washington, DC, wanted to
families at risk from loose regulations at our southern border, as we stand equate big banks and community
on what could be catastrophically dan- here today with a gas crisis and gas banks the same and to say: Let’s put
gerous trains. Too many lives are at lines, as we stand here today with an the pressure on the big banks but
stake, and the Department of Trans- inflation crisis on the verge of erupt- ‘‘leave the little banks alone,’’ often
portation should have the ability to re- ing, and as we stand here today with the little banks got caught up in that
view this rule. This bill that is being war in the Middle East, sadly, we are fight, and he was one of the folks who
propounded right now would blind our seeing a reprise of the 1970s—the same was constantly stepping out and say-
safety watchdog when we should be failed policies producing the same dis- ing: Allow community banks to serve
putting these threats under a micro- astrous results—except, in the rerun, communities.
scope. Joe Biden is Jimmy Carter 2.0 and In rural communities, like many of
I object. KAMALA HARRIS is Walter Mondale. The mine in Oklahoma, that bank was es-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec- country, sadly, is paying the price for sential to the economic development of
tion is heard. the extreme and failed policies, and we what is happening in farming, in ranch-
The Senator from Texas. are just 4 months into it. ing; what is happening in every single
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, as the I yield the floor. person getting access to a car loan or a
Senator from Massachusetts knows, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- home loan or just being that friend
there is an existing rule that went ator from Oklahoma. when they need a chance to talk about
through the ordinary process in final- TRIBUTE TO ROGER BEVERAGE financial advice.
izing the rule—the ordinary notice and Mr. LANKFORD. Madam President, Now, Roger is a leader, and you can
comment process—that has been pro- there is a lot going on right now. I imagine, with bankers, who all have
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S2766 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 19, 2021
lots of opinions and lots of great lead- President Biden’s decision to cave on Nord Stream 2 is 95 percent completed.
ers, he didn’t agree with everybody all Nord Stream 2 is just the latest show Like an outstretched arm, Russia’s
the time, but I would tell you some- of weakness towards Russia by this ad- pipeline extends ominously within
thing I know about Roger: He always ministration, which is strange, coming reach of Germany’s shore. We have to
listened. Always. from a party that spent the last 4 years move quickly and in concert with our
People would ask me about Roger all chesty and boastful, pretending allies to make sure it extends no fur-
and what I think of him, and I would they were Jack Ryan in a Tom Clancy ther.
say: He is a servant leader. He is a hard novel. This Russian pipeline is bad for
worker. He is a person who listens. He Nord Stream 2 will serve as a noose America and bad for Europe. If the
has strong opinions, but his strong around the neck of Europe’s energy President wishes to take the reins of
opinions are based on his own experi- supply. It will allow Russia to squeeze international leadership, this is his op-
ence in the facts of the day, but he is the sovereign nations of Eastern and portunity. Kill Nord Stream 2 now, and
also a humble worker who is actually Central Europe into submission. let it rust beneath the waves of the
working for the best of everyone. You may think I am exaggerating, Baltic.
He will be missed in my State—21 but Russia has used energy as a weapon I yield the floor.
years of serving in the State chamber of foreign policy many times in the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
and leadership in so many areas in our past. In 2009, for instance, Russia shut ator from Maine.
State—but I am grateful today and in off the flow of natural gas to Europe (The remarks of Ms. COLLINS per-
the days ahead that he is going to fi- during a dispute with Ukraine, causing taining to the introduction of S. 1714
nally get a chance to just be grandpa energy shortages in the dead of winter. are printed in today’s RECORD under
and hang out with those 12 grand- Russia has reduced or shut off gas to ‘‘Statements on Introduced Bills and
children. Austria, Poland, Romania, Lithuania, Joint Resolutions.’’)
Enjoy those days, Roger. Thank you Ms. COLLINS. I yield the floor.
and Slovakia whenever those countries The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
for what you have done to be able to have refused its demands or otherwise
help lead our State in this area and to ator from Tennessee.
displeased the Kremlin. ONLINE PRIVACY
be able to serve so many community Nord Stream 2 will deepen Europe’s
bankers all across the Nation. Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam Presi-
addiction to Russian gas and make it
I yield the floor. dent, one of the benefits of vaccine
ever more dependent on the dealer. All
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- rates going up is that school districts
of Europe could suffer, but Ukraine
ator from Arkansas. will no longer have an excuse to keep
would be hurt the most of all. If the
NORD STREAM 2 PIPELINE kids and teachers at home for virtual
Nord Stream 2 pipeline comes online,
Mr. COTTON. Madam President, as learning. But if I know kids—and as a
Russia could bypass Ukraine entirely.
the disasters pile up left and right from mom and a grandmom, I can assure
This would not only cost Ukraine’s you, I understand the kiddos—getting
these early months of the Biden Presi-
economy billions of dollars in transit them back in the classroom won’t get
dency, one might be called the Tail of
fees, it would also give Russia the abil- them away from the screens.
Three Pipelines—three separate pipe-
ity to isolate and starve this proud na- These big tech companies in China
lines, three separate challenges, united
tion. It is hard to imagine a worse time and the Silicon Valley have done their
by one consistent theme. In each case,
for this to happen, with Russian troops jobs well. For many American kids, de-
the foolishness and weakness of the
massed on the Ukrainian border, while vices are integrated into their every-
Biden administration has led to the
disaster. Russia’s dictator salivates over con- day lives. There is no escaping that 4-
First, President Biden began his ad- quering or further partitioning this inch plate of glass in their pockets. It
ministration by killing the Keystone country. has become a part of their culture.
XL Pipeline on day one. This decision It is no wonder that the vast major- Now, this addiction to tech doesn’t
was a gift to the radical environ- ity of Europe sees the dire danger sit well with many parents and watch-
mentalist nonprofit industry in Wash- posed by this pipeline. The European dogs. We have all heard arguments that
ington, DC, and destroyed thousands of Parliament voted overwhelmingly in order to break this addiction, we
good, high-paying, blue-collar, Amer- against it on three separate occasions, need to somehow change the culture
ican jobs, including many jobs in my including just last month. The United and persuade young people to break
home State of Arkansas. Kingdom, France, and Eastern Europe their own ties with Big Tech. I have a
Second, last week Russian-affiliated firmly oppose its construction as well. different argument: It is Big Tech that
hackers attacked the Colonial Pipe- It is only a small but influential group needs to change its culture.
line—an artery that supplies nearly of German elites who support this mis- As we all know, many of these com-
half the fuel for the east coast—caus- guided plan. panies are little more than glorified ad
ing widespread gas shortages across the It is ironic that these men and agencies. Facebook, Twitter, Google,
Southeast. women of power and privilege would and TikTok have all been successful
Instead of making the hackers feel doubtlessly claim to support the so- because of their advertising strategies.
the full wrath of the U.S. Government, called liberal international order, as is Their job is to get eyeballs on content
the Biden administration called the at- the fashion in such circles, but their and keep fingers scrolling up and down
tack a private sector concern. Colonial actions are directly empowering a dic- the screen. This means that with every
then paid the hackers over $4 million tator who poses the greatest threat to shiny new update, their advertising al-
in ransom, presumably with Biden ad- their dreams; a man who rose to power gorithms have also gotten an update.
ministration foreknowledge and acqui- and has maintained it through extor- The more complex and pervasive
escence, if not explicit support. This tion, murder, and brutality. these tracking figures become, the
payment, of course, will only encour- Putin’s most recent political rival, harder it is for users to understand
age further such attacks on American Alexei Navalny, was poisoned with a what data these companies are col-
companies. nerve agent and today is rotting in a lecting and how that data is going to
Third and finally, yesterday the Russian penal colony. Navalny’s only be used. Not even tech-savvy adults
Biden administration announced it will crime was exposing the corruption and can keep up with the legalese in those
waive major, legally mandated sanc- depravity of the Russian state. Yet updated privacy policies.
tions against the Russian Nord Stream President Biden wants to enrich and I think if I went around this Chamber
2 Pipeline into Germany. This refusal reward this very regime. and asked ‘‘When is the last time you
to implement sanctions approved by Ultimately, the pipeline is emblem- read the terms of service on an app up-
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
Congress directly benefits by design atic of the Biden administration’s date?’’ I am willing to bet the answer
the Russian company building Nord ‘‘America last’’ foreign policy, but for most of us would be ‘‘Well, it was a
Stream 2 and its CEO, who—you won’t there is still time to stop it. I am urg- long time ago,’’ or it could be maybe
believe it—is a former Communist, ing the President to reverse course im- even never.
East German Stasi officer and long- mediately. There is little room for Big tech companies have taken ad-
time crony of Vladimir Putin. error left at this late, perilous stage. vantage of that, and they have created
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May 19, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2767
within their sphere a culture of push- In 2020, the National Center for Miss- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen-
ing boundaries. It is do first, apologize ing and Exploited Children received a ator from Maryland.
later, and never ever respond to ques- recordbreaking 21.7 million reports of Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I ask
tions about their policies with a suspected child sexual exploitation, unanimous consent that I be permitted
straight answer. and 21.4 million of those reports came to complete my remarks before the
This Congress, I reintroduced the from electronic service providers. If scheduled vote.
BROWSER Act as a way of pushing you are looking for the danger, there it The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
that culture toward a more consumer- is. objection, it is so ordered.
friendly consent model. It would re- During yesterday’s meeting of the CICADAS
quire tech companies to add opt-in and Commerce Committee’s Consumer Pro- Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I am
opt-out features to their data collec- tection Subcommittee, Baroness Kid- fortunate enough to live in Baltimore,
tion policies and inject some trans- ron had it right when she said that and I say that because I can commute
parency into the relationship between Facebook has not earned our trust, and every night to home, which is a real
the user and the service provider. It is I would encourage my colleagues work- pleasure, to be able to be with my fam-
a great place to start and a key ele- ing with me on this issue to apply this ily in the evening. My wife Myrna and
ment of my virtual new protection fact to Big Tech in general. I normally take a morning walk before
agenda. These companies are entangled in our I start the day, and I can get the morn-
Regulation hasn’t kept up with inno- daily lives and in the lives of our chil- ing report from my neighbors as to
vation—that much is clear—but nei- dren, and they have no incentive to what is on their minds.
ther has demand for corporate respon- loosen their grip on our attention by So, this morning, you might be sur-
sibility and transparency. It is time to making things easier to understand. prised to learn that the major topic of
change that, and I encourage all of my Therefore, we have no incentive to as- discussion was the Brood X, also known
colleagues on each side of the aisle to sume they are acting with the interest as the cicadas. These are the cicadas
take a look at the BROWSER Act. of their customers in mind. that appear every 17 years. Now, I must
But what about those kids? Tech Remember that terms of service tell you, that became our subject be-
companies are increasingly catering to agreement we talked about earlier? cause we were all trying to avoid step-
young demographics, which means the Well, imagine standing by and asking a ping on them as we were walking.
kids are exposed to more of the online child to read, understand, and make an Most of us would describe world
world every day, which, depending on informed choice about whether to click events of the past calendar year as un-
what corner you find yourself in, is a the ‘‘accept’’ button. This is prepos- precedented, and this characterization
productive educational experience, or terous. We need to bring the parents is not wrong. For public health, for the
it could be a life-and-death situation. economy, and for our democracy, the
back into the conversation and inject
Now, the science tells us that, phys- year 2021 has indeed brought us chal-
accountability and transparency into
ically, children do not have the cog- lenges previously unimaginable. How-
nitive ability to understand the adver- the process.
Last Congress, I introduced the ever, 2021 also marks a predictably pre-
tisements and data collection scenarios dictable natural phenomenon: the
SAFE DATA Act with my colleagues,
that they are being thrown into. Their emergence of what is known as the 17-
Senators WICKER, THUNE, and FISHER.
brains are simply not developed year cicadas. Reliably, every 17 years,
This bill contained a requirement that
enough. But the security moms out these insects emerge in the Mid-Atlan-
companies not transfer data collected
there are keeping an eye on all of this, tic in droves. People greet their visits
and they will tell you they do not need from children between the ages of 13
with equal amounts of scorn and ex-
an anatomy lesson to know when their and 16 without the explicit consent of
citement. Some of that is depending
child is in over their head. They see their parent or guardian. This Con-
upon age.
their children following trails left for gress, I hope my colleagues, Demo- I hope that we can use this 17-year
them by predators, and they are both- cratic and Republican, will be willing marker to celebrate the scientific con-
ered. They see their daughters falling to work with me on similar legislation tributions of an unappreciated Mary-
apart over body image and self-esteem that truly targets this problem of child lander and reflect more broadly on the
issues made worse by photoshopped im- exploitation online. history of the relationship between hu-
ages. They see the violence and the We will never change the culture of mans and the natural environment in
sexual content in music and movies Big Tech—the culture Big Tech has the Mid-Atlantic, especially the Chesa-
that is created for adults, but children created for itself—if we don’t take peake Bay.
are being exposed to this. steps right now to deincentivize the Maryland sees the highest concentra-
They have a really bad feeling about monetization of children’s attention tion of cicadas on the east coast. Sci-
the expanding role of technology in and browsing habits. This is a bipar- entists estimate that in some places,
their child’s life. The stats and the tisan issue. we have more than 25 or 30 cicadas per
scandals we are seeing every day back The Zuckerbergs and the Dorseys and square foot or more than 1 million per
up their concerns. the Pichais of the world who have come acre. In addition to this astonishing
According to Common Sense Re- to testify before the Commerce Com- quantity, male cicadas will perform a
search, 98 percent of children in this mittee—they understand this. It wasn’t mating song that, in large groups, can
country—98 percent of children in this a pleasant experience for them, but I reach the same decibel level as a lawn-
country—under the age of 8 have access do believe they have gotten the point. mower.
to a mobile device at home. In 2011, They need to understand that when it The cicadas’ visits last only a matter
just over half of the children had that comes to privacy and safety mistakes, of weeks for the purpose of mating,
kind of access. This means that 98 per- there is no safe harbor to be found here molting, and laying eggs that will
cent of children under age 8 are sub- in the U.S. Senate, especially when it eventually burrow into the ground and
jected to unprecedented levels of sur- concerns the exploitation of our pre- repeat the process in another 17 years.
veillance, data collection, and adver- cious children. In the words of prominent Maryland
tising attacks, even in supposedly kid- What we have going on is going to be scientist Benjamin Banneker, ‘‘If their
friendly apps. even more unpleasant when these secu- lives are short, they are merry,’’ not-
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, rity moms start upping the ante and ing that ‘‘they still continue on singing
got caught tracking children on their start cutting off the flow of all that till they die.’’
school-provided devices outside of valuable underage data that is pro- Benjamin Banneker’s original hand-
school hours. Amazon got caught col- duced by their children online that is written document describing the cica-
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
lecting recordings from children’s Echo being data-mined by these big tech das in 1800 is at the Maryland Center
Dot Kids devices. Parents and regu- companies and then sold to advertisers, for History and Culture in Baltimore.
lators have raked Google, TikTok, and sold to the highest bidder. That is the He accurately predicted the next 17-
Facebook over the coals for pushing breaking point we are rapidly ap- year cycles. Over the course of his life,
products to children that would in- proaching. he witnessed four 17-year cycles of ci-
crease social media addiction. I yield the floor. cadas. Benjamin Banneker may have
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S2768 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 19, 2021
been the first scientist to observe and means the bay is in moderate health tive aide, applying science to environ-
record the 17-year lifecycle of cicadas. and is slightly improving over time. mental and infrastructure policy.
Banneker was born in 1731. His fa- For its first ever score, the Chesapeake While my staff and I will miss her, we
ther, Robert Bannaky, was a formerly Bay scored B-minus. That means the wish her the very best of luck and a lit-
enslaved Black man. His mother Mary larger watershed is in good health. tle cicada magic in her academic pur-
was a free woman of mixed racial herit- The path to success for Chesapeake suits.
age. Bay’s restoration remains steep and is With that, I yield the floor.
Banneker demonstrated a keen inter- only becoming more challenging due to AMENDMENT NO. 1517
est in the sciences after his maternal the harmful effects of climate change. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
grandmother taught him to read and Warmer and wetter weather conditions the previous order, there will now be
write, and he continued his education work against progress on removing pol- up to 2 minutes of debate, equally di-
at a Quaker schoolhouse in Baltimore lutants and creating habitats condu- vided on amendment 1517.
County. He quickly excelled in the area cive to population regrowth. The The Senator from Hawaii.
of mathematics and astronomy and is Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint Ms. HIRONO. Madam President, I ask
now considered one of the first African- set forth a timeline for the six water- unanimous consent to speak for 2 min-
American intellects to gain widespread shed jurisdictions that end in 2025. utes.
fame. Now more than ever, we need State, The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without
He is probably best known for au- local, and Federal partners working in objection, it is so ordered.
tandem to meet these goals. The Ms. HIRONO. Madam President, I
thorizing a series of commercially suc-
Chesapeake Bay Program will play a would like to thank Senator TILLIS for
cessful farmers’ almanacs that pre-
working with me on this amendment,
dicted weather and tidal patterns for central role in that effort, bringing
amendment No. 1517, to the U.S. Inno-
farmers and fishermen. Banneker also various Federal Agencies, State and
vation and Competition Act, which
predicted lunar and solar eclipses, con- local governments, and nonprofit orga-
comes from our work on the IDEA Act,
tributed to surveying the land for the nizations together to meet these goals.
A 17-year review of progress for the a bill that passed the Judiciary Com-
U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, and re-
Chesapeake Bay should energize the mittee last month with bipartisan sup-
portedly built the first domestically port.
produced wooden clock in the country. community to work hard to meet our
Promoting innovation is key to en-
In addition to his contributions to goals. In order to do so, we need the
suring the United States remains com-
science and agriculture, Banneker ad- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
petitive in an increasingly competitive
vocated for abolition in a series of let- to play its role as the referee for the
global economy. Unfortunately, the
ters he exchanged with President Chesapeake Bay Program. The success limited data that is available suggests
Thomas Jefferson. of the effort depends on the stringent large segments of American society are
Mainstream historical narratives enforcement of statewide pollution re- not engaging with a key component of
have largely excluded Banneker’s ac- duction plans by the EPA. the innovation economy, the U.S. pat-
complishments as a prominent Black As we consider the next arrival of ci-
ent system.
intellect in the early days of our Na- cadas in the area in 2038, it is impos- Women make up only 13 percent of
tion. As we consider the enormous in- sible not to look ahead to the climate inventors. Black and Hispanic college
terest in the arrival of cicadas, it is ap- goals the Biden administration has graduates patent at approximately half
propriate that we acknowledge enumerated. By 2030, President Biden the rate of their White counterparts.
Banneker’s early leading role in pre- has pledged that the United States Closing these patent gaps would
dicting the 17-year cycle. should have reduced economy-wide net turbocharge the U.S. economy.
There are few historical artifacts greenhouse gas pollution by 50 to 52 One study found that including more
from Banneker’s home in Maryland, percent. This goal is also referred to as women and Black Americans in the
which burned down shortly after his the nationally determined contribu- early stages of innovation could grow
death. Fortunately, we have the Ben- tion, which is formally submitted to our economy by 3.3 percent. Hold that
jamin Banneker Historical Park and United Nations Framework Convention thought. Another found that elimi-
Museum in Catonsville, MD, which Bal- on Climate Change. President Biden nating the patent gap for women with
timore County administers. The park made this announcement during the science and engineering degrees alone
tells the story of his remarkable life Leaders Summit on Climate, which would grow the economy by another 2.7
and the impact the natural environ- serves to demonstrate the return of the percent. We are talking about hundreds
ment of the Chesapeake Bay had in United States to leadership on climate of billions of dollars of growth to our
sparking his intellectual curiosity. issues. economy.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan The natural environment is probably But if we have any hope of closing
issued a proclamation declaring May one of the most obvious markers of the these patent gaps, we must first get a
and June 2021 as Maryland Magicicada passage of time and provides an appro- firm grasp on who is and who is not
Months to recognize the return of the priate moment of reflection. Seasonal using the patent system. Unfortu-
17-year periodical cicadas and to gen- changes, growing trees and crops, and nately, the PTO—Patent and Trade-
erate public awareness about this phe- even the arrival of the cicadas can push mark Office—does not collect demo-
nomena. us to acknowledge where we have met graphic data on applicants. As a result,
Fortunately, cicadas’ buzz is worse our objectives and where we have fallen researchers are forced to guess an ap-
than their bite. Cicadas do not chew, short on our goals. In terms of our plicant’s gender based on his or her
bite, or sting, so they are not a threat local and global environmental res- name, determine an applicant’s race by
to humans, pets, animals, or most toration goals, we have a lot of work to cross-referencing census data, or ex-
plants. do before 2037. plore other options that are time-con-
The unit of time marked by the ar- TRIBUTE TO LOUISE FOSTER suming, unreliable, or both.
rival of the periodic cicadas in the re- Madam President, as we reflect on Our amendment solves this problem.
gion is a useful interval to observe how change, I would like to take this oppor- It would enable the PTO to collect de-
the local environment has changed tunity to congratulate a member of my mographic data from patent applicants
over time. personal staff, Louise Foster, on her on a volunteer basis. I want to repeat
Two years after the last emergence of matriculation at Columbia University that. This is on a volunteer basis. No-
cicadas in 2006 was the first year the School of International and Public Af- body is forcing anyone to provide this
University of Maryland Center for En- fairs this fall. kind of information. This data could
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
vironmental Science’s report card was ‘‘Weezie,’’ as everyone who knows her then be analyzed by the PTO and out-
released. The habitat health values calls her, has spent the last 3 years side researchers to identify where pat-
were generally poor overall in 2006, providing outstanding public service in ent gaps exist and how to address
with a dramatic reduction in bay my Washington, DC, office, first as a them.
grasses. In 2019, the overall score for staff assistant on the frontline of con- Let me be clear. Simply providing re-
Chesapeake Bay was a C-minus. This stituent service and now as a legisla- searchers more data would not solve
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May 19, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2769
the patent gaps facing women, racial Van Hollen Warren Wyden diately away from Tribes. It would
Warner Whitehouse Young
minorities, and so many others, but it Warnock Wicker
take money away from healthcare. It
is a critical first step. We need to have would take money away from
data with which to make decisions. NAYS—27 broadband and, eventually, it could
I encourage my colleagues to support Barrasso Graham Marshall take money away from things like
Blackburn Hagerty McConnell
this amendment. Boozman Hawley Paul aerospace, manufacturing, and money
Thank you. Braun Inhofe Romney that is there for the people who have
I yield the floor. Cassidy Johnson Scott (FL) been impacted by the downturn who no
Cotton Kennedy Shelby
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cruz Lankford Thune
longer have jobs and need to be re-
HICKENLOOPER). The Senator from Daines Lee Toomey trained and skilled.
North Carolina. Ernst Lummis Tuberville I think we should pay for the Endless
Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, there are NOT VOTING—2 Frontier Act as our appropriator col-
inventors in Colorado and Hawaii and Murkowski Rubio
leagues will get the chance. Please
across this Nation whom we don’t even don’t ruin this bill by basically trying
know about because the fact is, we The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under to pay for it with repealing State dol-
have missed the opportunity to engage the previous order requiring 60 votes lars.
more people and have more diverse in- for the adoption of this amendment, VOTE ON AMENDMENT NO. 1547
ventors. the amendment is agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
The amendment (No. 1517) was agreed
We have to look at this from several question is on agreeing to amendment
to.
different perspectives. Let’s look at it No. 1547.
AMENDMENT NO. 1547
from a national security perspective. Mr. WICKER. I ask for the yeas and
I have chaired the Intellectual Prop- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under nays.
erty Subcommittee for the last two the previous order, there will now be The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a
Congresses. We heard endless reports of up to 2 minutes of debate, equally di- sufficient second?
how China is churning out patents and vided, on amendment No. 1547. There appears to be a sufficient sec-
more and more patents, breaking The Senator from Florida. ond.
records every day. This commonsense Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, The clerk will call the roll.
amendment does nothing more than the COVID–19 pandemic was dev- The senior assistant legislative clerk
allow people to submit information astating to our Nation and Congress called the roll.
that we can use to get a better beat on came together in a bipartisan fashion Mr. THUNE. The following Senators
communities that we need to get into to provide unprecedented relief for 2020. are necessarily absent: the Senator
to create more intellectual property, to Unfortunately, Democrats ditched from South Carolina (Mr. GRAHAM), the
create more patents, and to get more that bipartisan approach in their so- Senator from Alaska (Ms. MURKOWSKI),
people engaged in the patents and in- called COVID bill, the American Res- and the Senator from Florida (Mr.
tellectual property system. With this cue Plan, which was full of wasteful RUBIO).
bill, I believe we will make great spending which has nothing to do with The result was announced—yeas 47,
strides. the crisis. It didn’t receive a single Re- nays 50, as follows:
publican vote. Only 10 percent of the [Rollcall Vote No. 197 Leg.]
I hope everybody will vote for this
funds in the American Rescue Plan are
amendment. YEAS—47
related to COVID–19 and spending for
Thank you. Barrasso Fischer Portman
vaccines is less than 1 percent. Blackburn Grassley Risch
VOTE ON AMENDMENT NO. 1517
With our Nation nearly $30 trillion in Blunt Hagerty Romney
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The debt and rising inflation, this spending Boozman Hawley Rounds
question is on agreeing to the amend- is irresponsible and reckless. Braun Hoeven Sasse
ment. Burr Hyde-Smith Scott (FL)
One of the more ridiculous examples Capito Inhofe
Mr. WICKER. I ask for the yeas and Scott (SC)
of waste was $350 billion included for Cassidy Johnson Shelby
nays. State and local bailouts, even though Collins Kennedy
Sullivan
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a Cornyn Lankford
our States are doing just fine. In fact, Cotton Lee
Thune
sufficient second? California just announced it will have a Cramer Lummis
Tillis
There appears to be a sufficient sec- Toomey
$75 billion surplus. Reckless spending Crapo Marshall
Tuberville
ond. has consequences, and we need to be Cruz McConnell
Daines Moran Wicker
The clerk will call the roll. fiscally responsible in every use of tax- Ernst Paul Young
The bill clerk called the roll. payer dollars.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators NAYS—50
This amendment would simply pay
are necessarily absent: the Senator for the U.S. Innovation and Competi- Baldwin Hickenlooper Reed
Bennet Hirono Rosen
from Alaska (Ms. MURKOWSKI) and the tion Act and all provisions of this bill Blumenthal Kaine Sanders
Senator from Florida (Mr. RUBIO). by using unobligated, unnecessary Booker Kelly Schatz
The result was announced—yeas 71, funding for the American Rescue Plan. Brown King Schumer
Cantwell Klobuchar
nays 27, as follows: I ask for your support. Cardin Leahy
Shaheen
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Sinema
[Rollcall Vote No. 196 Leg.] Carper Luján Smith
YEAS—71 ator from Washington. Casey Manchin
Stabenow
Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I Coons Markey
Baldwin Fischer Murray Tester
Cortez Masto Menendez
Bennet Gillibrand Ossoff enjoy working with my colleague from Duckworth Merkley
Van Hollen
Blumenthal Grassley Padilla Florida on many issues, but on this Durbin Murphy Warner
Blunt Hassan Peters Warnock
particular issue, I disagree. Feinstein Murray
Booker Heinrich Portman Gillibrand Ossoff Warren
Brown Hickenlooper Reed This amendment harms both my Whitehouse
Hassan Padilla
Burr Hirono Risch State and our Nation. It literally is Heinrich Peters Wyden
Cantwell Hoeven Rosen saying: Take the money that went to
Capito Hyde-Smith Rounds NOT VOTING—3
Cardin Kaine Sanders
local governments in the rescue plan
Graham Murkowski Rubio
Carper Kelly Sasse and repeal it to pay for the Endless
Casey King Schatz Frontier Act. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms.
Collins Klobuchar Schumer It said by the date of the enactment SMITH). On this vote, the yeas are 47
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
Coons Leahy Scott (SC)
Cornyn Luján Shaheen of this, if that money is repealed, it and the nays are 50.
Cortez Masto Manchin Sinema can go and take other money that was Under the previous order requiring 60
Cramer Markey Smith part of the recovery plan that isn’t votes for adoption, the amendment is
Crapo Menendez Stabenow
Duckworth Merkley Sullivan
spent and start taking money from it. not agreed to.
Durbin Moran Tester I think this is the wrong way to do The amendment (No. 1547) was re-
Feinstein Murphy Tillis that. This would take money imme- jected.
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S2770 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 19, 2021
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- trying to unravel this progress and ap- own resolution. Unlike Senator SCOTT’s
ator from Florida. pease illegitimate Palestinian leaders, resolution, mine is short and to the
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST—S. RES. 226 demonstrating once again the Demo- point, and I think it expresses the feel-
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam Presi- crats’ reckless disregard for the secu- ings of the overwhelming majority of
dent, I am proud to stand today in sup- rity and prosperity of Israel. people in our country and, in fact,
port of our great ally Israel. Israel is a The Palestinian leadership, which throughout the world.
vibrant democracy that supports cap- has been operating as a dictatorship for This is what our resolution says:
italism, champions human rights, and 15 years, had their last election for Whereas every Palestinian life matters;
holds free and open elections. Since its President in 2005. Biden has restored and
reestablishment in 1948, the United U.S. aid to the Palestinians, who open- Whereas every Israeli life matters:
Now, therefore be it resolved that the Sen-
States has been Israel’s most fervent ly support terrorism, wage war against
ate urges an immediate cease-fire to prevent
supporter, and my home State of Flor- Israel, and do not recognize its exist- any further loss of life; and further esca-
ida has maintained a strong relation- ence. lation of conflict in Israel and the Pales-
ship with Israel throughout these I am disgusted to see the anti-Israel tinian territories, and supports diplomatic
years. agenda being pushed by the radical efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian con-
As Governor, I took a stand against left. The Biden administration can’t go flict, to uphold international law and to pro-
discrimination and prohibited State down this path. They need to stop try- tect the human rights of Israelis and Pal-
agencies and local governments from ing to rejoin the horrible Iran deal. estinians.
contracting with companies boycotting Biden needs to stop his weak and mis- I would like to thank my colleagues
Israel. I also signed legislation to en- guided strategy and keep maximum Senator WARREN, Senator VAN HOLLEN,
sure the State of Florida will not sup- pressure on the Ayatollah until Iran is Senator KAINE, Senator CARPER, Sen-
port those who participate in the BDS no longer a threat to U.S. national se- ator HEINRICH, Senator MURPHY, Sen-
movement. curity. ator MERKLEY, Senator OSSOFF, Sen-
I traveled to Israel three times as the Israel deserves our full support; ator LEAHY, and Senator MARKEY for
Governor of Florida to support our Israel deserves the right to peace and cosponsoring this resolution.
strong economic partnership and cele- security; Israel deserves the right to I would also like to point out that
brate the opening of the new Embassy protect its people from reprehensible those of us who are supporting an im-
in Jerusalem. Israel’s economic terrorist attacks; and Israel deserves mediate cease-fire are certainly not
strength is key to its ability to defend the right to take whatever means are alone. We join with nearly unanimous
itself and our common interests. necessary to stop the murder of its calls from the European Union, with
Last Congress, I was proud to cospon- citizens and foreign nationals residing United Nations Secretary General An-
sor a bill recognizing Israel’s sov- in Israel. tonio Guterres, with Pope Francis, and
ereignty over the Golan Heights and Because we have no greater ally in with many others. In other words, all
also supported the Eastern Mediterra- our efforts to preserve peace and secure over the world people are seeing the
nean Security and Energy Partnership our interests in the Middle East, I am terrible tragedy that is taking place in
Act to promote security and energy proud to lead 29 of my colleagues today the region, and they want an end to it
partnerships in the Eastern Mediterra- to condemn the escalating attacks by as quickly as possible through a cease-
nean. Hamas against Israel and thank them fire.
While I visited Israel numerous for joining me on this effort. Now, I happened to have read Sen-
times, my most recent trip as Senator The resolution reaffirms the unwav- ator SCOTT’s resolution, and I was par-
gave me a clear perspective on Israel’s ering commitment of the United States ticularly struck by one sentence in it
proximity to its enemies Hamas, to Israel and its right to take whatever on page 2. What it says:
Hezbollah, ISIS, and Iran. For decades, means necessary to stop the murder of The Senate mourns the loss of innocent
the people of Israel have endured its citizens and foreign nationals resid- life caused by Hamas’ rocket attacks.
unyielding attacks from terrorist ing in Israel. It is time for the U.S. That is on page 2. Now, I certainly
groups, like Hamas, which with Iran’s Senate to say that enough is enough agree with that, and I think every
support and funding wish to destroy and unanimously adopt this resolution Member of Congress agrees with that.
the Jewish State and its people. to make it clear that the United States The loss of 12 innocent Israeli lives is,
Now, as thousands of rockets rain stands with Israel. These terrorists in fact, a tragedy.
down, our resolve to stand with Israel need to know that acts of aggression But what about the loss of 227 Pales-
must be stronger than ever. I want to toward Israel will never be tolerated. tinian lives, including 64 children and
be clear: Israel has every right to de- President Biden should take imme- 38 women? Does Senator SCOTT not be-
fend and protect its people from ter- diate action to remind these terrorists lieve that the loss of those Palestinian
rorist attacks and to do whatever is and the world of the strong and unwav- lives, 64 children and 38 women, among
necessary to stop the murder of its ering support of the United States for others, is not a tragedy?
citizens and foreign nationals residing the Israeli people, and we should stop I believe that we should be mourning
in Israel. cowering to the anti-Israel radical left. the loss of Israeli life, but we should
No country—certainly not the United I look forward to my colleagues join- also be mourning the loss of Pales-
States—would allow the murder of its ing me today to stand with Israel. tinian lives or perhaps some people
citizens. The terrorists blasting these I ask unanimous consent that the think that Palestinian lives don’t mat-
rockets into Israel are the same terror- Senate proceed to the consideration of ter. I would hope not.
ists that chant ‘‘Death to America.’’ S. Res. 226, submitted earlier today. I And let us be very clear that when we
They don’t believe in democracy, and further ask that the resolution be talk about the tragedy that is now tak-
they want Israel wiped off the face of agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, ing place in Gaza, what we are talking
the Earth. As our great ally and the and that the motions to reconsider be about is not only the terrible loss of
only shining example of democracy in considered made and laid upon the life. As I hope most people know, Gaza,
the Middle East, Israel deserves our table with no intervening action or de- before this war, was an extremely poor
full support. Today and every day, the bate. and desperate community, and the lat-
United States must align with those The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there est Israeli bombardment has only made
fighting for freedom and democracy, objection? a bad situation much, much worse.
clearly denounce terrorism, and stand Mr. SANDERS. Reserving the right Let us remember, Gaza has been
up against those who do not respect to object. under a blockade since 2007, imposed by
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
human rights. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Israel and Egypt. Most people are un-
The Trump administration made tre- ator from Vermont. able to leave. Basic necessities are ex-
mendous efforts to facilitate peace and Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, re- tremely hard to obtain.
prosperity between our great ally serving the right to object, and I will Gaza is the home to about 2 million
Israel and neighboring Arab nations, object to the unanimous consent re- inhabitants. Its population density is
but we see the Biden administration quest by Senator SCOTT and offer my among the highest in the world—just a
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May 19, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2771
huge amount of people squeezed into a let us be clear, Hamas is a terrorist or- terday calling for a cease-fire was Hun-
very small area. More than half of the ganization. It is a corrupt organiza- gary. Hungary did not join the rest of
population of Gaza, some 56 percent, tion, and it is a repressive organiza- the European Union, and Hungary, of
live below the poverty line. Seventy tion. But here is the irony: It is resolu- course, is led by the ethno-nationalist
percent of the population is receiving tions like Senator SCOTT’s that help authoritarian Viktor Orban, a strong
aid, according to estimates by the Hamas. Hamas would be overjoyed if ally of both Netanyahu and Donald
United Nations. Food rations con- Senator SCOTT’s resolution were to Trump.
stitute most of that aid. Unemploy- pass. Now, some may choose to be on that
ment in Gaza is around 45 percent; 48 Now, why is that? Let us understand side, but that is not the side I choose to
percent of the population is under the that one of Hamas’s goals is to show be on. We must be on the side of those
age of 18; and 70 percent—let me re- Palestinians that they represent the who want to build a society based on
peat—70 percent of the young people in real resistance to the occupation. Sen- real security and political equality and
Gaza are unemployed, with no hope for ator SCOTT’s resolution would help based upon the principles of economic
the future. them do just that. By making this all justice, racial justice, political justice,
And because of this war, the bom- about Hamas, Hamas, Hamas, Senator social justice, and environmental jus-
bardment from Israeli planes, the situ- SCOTT is effectively echoing Hamas’s tice. I believe we must stand in soli-
ation has gotten even worse. own argument that Hamas is the true darity with those Palestinians and
Today’s New York Times reports that face of Palestinians’ struggle, and I re- Israelis working to build a future of
the Israeli bombardment has—this is ject that, because, my friends, day equality and peaceful coexistence and
from the New York Times—‘‘damaged after day, year after year, decade after not with the intolerant extremists on
17 hospitals and clinics in Gaza.’’ Got decade, nonviolent Palestinian activ- either side, who wish to destroy that
that? Seventeen hospitals and clinics ists struggle against the daily violence future.
have been damaged. and harassment of occupation—vio- In this moment of crisis, the United
The bombardment has ‘‘wrecked its lence and harassment subsidized, by States should be urging an immediate
only coronavirus test laboratory, sent the way, with billions of U.S. taxpayer cease-fire. My colleagues, I strongly
fetid wastewater into its streets and dollars. believe that the United States has a
broken water pipes serving at least Let us be very clear. No one is argu- major role to play in helping the world
800,000 people. Sewage systems inside ing that Israel or any government does build a more peaceful and prosperous
Gaza have been destroyed. A desalina- not have the right to self-defense and future, one in which human rights are
tion plant that helped provide fresh the responsibility to protect its people. upheld and the life of every human
water to [a quarter of a million] people We should understand that, while being is valued.
in the territory is offline. Dozens of Hamas’s firing rockets into Israeli We should be leading the world in
schools have been damaged or closed,
communities is absolutely unaccept- combating the existential threat of cli-
forcing some 600,000 students to miss
able, today’s conflict did not begin mate change. We should be leading the
classes. Some 72,000 Gazans have been
with those rockets. It goes much, much world in making sure that every person
forced to flee their homes.’’
That is from the New York Times deeper. on Earth, no matter what country he
For years we have seen a deepening or she lives in, receives a vaccine to
this morning. Perhaps the situation
Israeli occupation in the West Bank protect them from the COVID–19 virus,
has gotten even worse. I don’t know. I
and East Jerusalem and a perpetual and, yes, we should lead the world in
want everybody to think for a moment
what it means to be living in a very blockade on Gaza, all of which makes attempting to bring the Israeli people
small territory, with dozens and dozens life increasingly unbearable for the and the Palestinian people together.
of planes attacking and bombing. What Palestinian people. The truth is that If the United States is going to be a
does it mean, in particular, to the chil- these policies, like this current war, credible voice on human rights on the
dren of Gaza? will continue to strengthen—to global stage, we must recognize that
Jess Ghannam, a professor of psychi- strengthen—extremists on both sides, Palestinian rights matter. Palestinian
atry at the University of California including Hamas. If you want to lives matter.
San Francisco who specializes in the strengthen Hamas, support this war. Madam President, I object to the
psychological effects of armed conflict We, Congress, must understand that Scott resolution.
on children, told USA Today: in more than a decade of his rightwing The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objec-
[What] children in Gaza are exposed to on
rule in Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has tion is heard.
a regular basis exceeds anything, anything cultivated an increasingly intolerant The Senator from Florida.
that any children anywhere else in the world and authoritarian-type of racist na- Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam Presi-
experience. There’s basically no place to go tionalism. In his frantic effort to stay dent, today is a sad day for the U.S.
for these children. They are unable to es- in power and avoid prosecution for cor- Senate, and one we will not forget. No
cape. ruption, Netanyahu has legitimized ex- one in this body supports the loss of in-
When you put people under this sort tremist forces, such as the Jewish nocent lives—no one. But let me be
of continued, intense pressure, with no Power party, by bringing them into the very clear about what we just wit-
hope for a better future, you cannot be government. nessed. We just saw the Democratic
surprised when violence erupts. Indeed, Moreover, we should understand that Party completely abandon the sov-
3 years ago, in May of 2018, I wrote a these dangerous trends are not unique ereignty of Israel in support of a ter-
letter, with 12 of my colleagues, urging to Israel. What was going on and what rorist organization. The radical left is
the Trump administration to do more is going on in Israel, in my view, is a fully embracing the lie of false equiva-
to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian political tragedy, but it is part of a lence and refuses to plainly state:
crisis in Gaza. In that letter, we cited trend that is going on around the Israel has the right to defend itself, pe-
Israeli defense officials—Israeli defense world, including here in the United riod.
officials—who were warning that if the States, where we are seeing the rise of The resolution I offered today simply
crisis was not addressed, it could lead authoritarian nationalist movements. reaffirms our support of Israel, one of
to yet another eruption of violence. These movements exploit ethnic and our greatest allies and our most impor-
Why didn’t we take notice then? And racial hatreds in order to build power tant ally in the Middle East. And it
when this latest war ends, will the for a corrupt few, rather than pros- condemns the escalating terrorist at-
United States once again turn away? perity, justice, and peace for the many. tacks against Israel.
Will we consign those children, once For the last 4 years, these movements This isn’t controversial. In fact, it is
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
again, to the horrible conditions they have had a friend in the Trump White in line with everything America has
are forced to live under today? And I House, and on January 6, those forces stood for, for generations. It is actually
would hope that my colleagues appre- attacked this very Chamber. in line with what my colleague just
ciate that we must not do that. It is no accident that the only Euro- wrote in his op-ed for the New York
Senator SCOTT’s resolution says a lot pean Union country that did not join Times. He said: ‘‘No one is arguing that
about Hamas terrorists in Gaza. And the nearly unanimous statement yes- Israel, or any government, does not
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S2772 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 19, 2021
have the right to self-defense or to pro- lence. No one in this body welcomes These agreements mark historic
tect its people.’’ So why is he objecting the loss of innocent life—no one. But progress toward peace in decades and
to this today? Does he agree with the we cannot and I will not accept the appear to open a new era of diplomacy
radical left that the United States left’s ignorance of the evil and dev- in the Middle East.
shouldn’t follow through with a crit- astating role Iran plays in funding and Today, though, the optimism we felt
ical arms sale to Israel as it continues supporting Hamas, the terrorist orga- just a little less than a year ago has
to face attacks? nization responsible for taking inno- been replaced with more violence—
It was not long ago that the Senate, cent lives. more violence—and more destruction
including my colleague, stood with My colleague’s resolution offers than we have seen in years and civilian
Israel on a bipartisan basis. In fact, in nothing to condemn Iran, the world’s casualties that continue to climb every
2014, when Israel was again subject to a largest state sponsor of terrorism. My day.
barrage of rockets targeting innocent colleague’s resolution offers nothing to Hamas has fired thousands of rockets
Israelis, then-Majority Leader Reid of- condemn Hamas. into civilian populations in Israel. If
fered a resolution supporting Israel’s Here is the difference between Israel not for the Iron Dome anti-rocket de-
right to defend itself against Hamas. and Hamas. Hamas uses its rockets to fense system and the U.S. support and
The 2014 resolution even acknowl- kill innocent Israelis. Israel uses its funding that made it possible, the
edges the simple truth that ‘‘Hamas re- rockets to defend its people. It should death toll would be significantly higher
fuses to recognize Israel’s right to not be difficult for the Senate to sim- than it is.
exist.’’ It also said: ‘‘Hamas refuses to ply reaffirm our support of Israel, one Just as any sovereign state under at-
recognize Israel’s right to exist.’’ It of our greatest allies and our most im- tack by terrorist forces would do,
says: ‘‘Hamas uses rockets to indis- portant ally in the Middle East, and Israel has defended its citizens. Given
criminately target civilians in Israel.’’ condemn the escalating terrorist at- the way Hamas uses Palestinian civil-
It says: ‘‘Hamas intentionally uses ci- tacks against Israel and its right to ians as human shields—a war crime, by
vilians as human shields.’’ And it re- end the murder of its citizens. the way, for which Hamas alone is re-
solved to ‘‘condemn Hamas’s terrorist It wasn’t difficult to get that done in sponsible—the counterstrikes have car-
actions.’’ 2014, when my colleague and every ried a human cost.
The Senate, including my colleague, As the conflict has intensified, some
other Member of the Senate unani-
of our colleagues on the other side of
unanimously supported then-Majority mously supported then-Majority Lead-
the aisle have called into question
Leader Reid’s resolution supporting er Reid’s resolution supporting Israel’s
Israel’s right to defend itself. They
Israel’s right to defend itself against right to defend itself against Hamas.
have acted as though there is some
Hamas and never said at that time that The same resolution also said: ‘‘Hamas
moral equivalency between the ter-
the resolution would embolden Hamas. refuses to recognize Israel’s right to
rorist acts of Hamas and Israel’s right
Yet, today, something has changed for exist.’’ It says: ‘‘Hamas uses rockets to
to defend itself. They have called on
my colleague. You are seeing a growing indiscriminately target civilians in the President to speak out against the
and dangerous anti-Israel agenda per- Israel.’’ And it says: ‘‘Hamas inten- conduct of Israel but not Hamas. It is
meate the Halls of Congress. Israel is a tionally uses civilians as human as though they think that Israel is
country surrounded by nations and ter- shields.’’ And it resolved to ‘‘condemn somehow a terrorist group, not the
rorist groups that want it wiped off the Hamas’s terrorists actions.’’ other way around.
face of the Earth. And as rockets rain So what does my colleague believe As I said, Hamas has launched thou-
down in Israel, my colleague refuses to has changed about the facts on the sands of rockets specifically headed to-
stand with our ally. ground since then? Here is what has ward civilian targets in Israel. The
I will say it again. Today is a sad day changed. The Democrats now have a moral equivalency argument between
for the U.S. Senate and one we will not powerful and growing anti-Israel cau- Hamas’s attack and Israel’s response is
forget. I will never accept a weakened cus in their party who defend terrorism clearly divorced from any reality.
position on Israel—never. I will never against Israel. The Democratic Party Let’s be clear, though. This conflict
stop fighting to support Israel and en- has abandoned American values, and is not a welcome development for any-
sure the Biden administration upholds now they are abandoning American al- one. The Israeli and the Palestinian
the longstanding and special partner- lies. people are bearing the cost of a conflict
ship between the United States and And, as I said earlier, we can’t allow that they had no hand in creating.
Israel. this dangerous anti-Israel agenda to It is important to remember that two
I yield the floor. permeate the Halls of Congress. We things can be true. First, Israel has a
UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST—S. RES. 225 can’t allow a blatant blind eye to be right to defend itself. If Hamas or any
Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, I turned to Israel. other terrorist group or state launches
ask unanimous consent that the Sen- Israel is a country surrounded by na- an attack on Israel, its government has
ate proceed to the immediate consider- tions and terrorist groups that want it both the right and the responsibility to
ation of S. Res. 225, submitted earlier wiped off the face of Earth. I will never respond and protect its citizens. Sec-
today; further, that the resolution be accept a weakened position on Israel— ondly, the number of civilian casual-
agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, never. And I am not going to stop ties on both sides, particularly the
and that the motions to reconsider be fighting to support Israel and ensure number of children, is heartbreaking.
considered made and laid upon the the Biden administration upholds a Both of those things are true.
table with no intervening action or de- longstanding and special partnership The violence and destruction we are
bate. between the United States and Israel. seeing is devastating, made even more
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there Therefore, I object. upsetting by the progress we appeared
objection? The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- to have made just last year. But this is
The Senator from Florida. ator from Texas. not a conflict between two govern-
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam Presi- Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, the ments; this is a sovereign state defend-
dent, reserving the right to object, my situation in the Middle East is a stark ing itself against a terrorist attack.
colleague is wrong for trying to boil contrast from that of just 9 months I am afraid that message has been
this down in an attempt to distract ago. lost on President Biden. When asked
from the reality we are seeing here Last summer, the United States about the conflict earlier this week,
today. helped broker the Abraham Accords—a White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki
The radical left is fully embracing historic step in the relationship be- said the administration is using ‘‘quiet
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
the lie of false equivalence and refuses tween Israel and the United Arab Emir- and intensive diplomacy’’—‘‘quiet and
to plainly state: Israel has the right to ates. The UAE became the third Arab intensive diplomacy’’ while the rockets
defend itself, period. country—the first Gulf State—to rec- are raining down on civilian popu-
My colleague’s resolution offers ognize and normalize relations with lations in Israel.
nothing supporting Israel’s rightful ef- Israel. Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan The only democracy in the Middle
forts to stop this repeated cycle of vio- would follow suit shortly thereafter. East is being attacked by a terrorist
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May 19, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2773
organization, and the diplomatic strat- I hope for a day in the future when ence that the United States had at that
egy of the leader of the free world in- the Middle East can be a place of time on oil flowing through the Strait
cludes remaining quiet. I am reminded peace, stability, and democracy, but we of Hormuz.
of President Obama’s statement—bi- simply will not reach that point with- But I think you could consider today
zarre now, in retrospect—talking about out a strong and secure Israel. that semiconductors are the new oil.
‘‘leading from behind,’’ an oxymoronic I stand in full support of Israel and Instead of the Strait of Hormuz, we are
doctrine which gave way to disastrous, will continue to fight for a strong U.S.- now dependent on a supply chain from
albeit predictable, consequences in Israel relationship. The United States parts of the world we can no longer de-
Libya. We continued to see the dire does not bow down to terrorist organi- pend upon.
cost of poor American leadership in zations, and we will not allow our al- Just as a blockade would have left
other foreign countries. In Yemen, in lies to be bullied and beaten by Hamas the world with devastating con-
Iraq, Syria, and Ukraine, leading from or any other terrorist group. sequences, a blockade of the semicon-
behind has done nothing but harm the (Mr. OSSOFF assumed the Chair.) ductor supply chain would have far-
cause of peace. S. 1260 reaching, negative consequences to our
I hope this serves as a wake-up call Mr. President, on one final matter, national security and economy. In fact,
for President Biden of the dangers of a we know the Endless Frontier legisla- we are getting a glimpse of what that
similar quest. ‘‘Quiet and intensive di- tion, which is on the floor today, is might look like right now.
plomacy’’ is not the appropriate course part of our response to the competition There is a global semiconductor
when one of our closest allies in the caused by an increasingly belligerent shortage that is largely related to
world is being attacked by an inter- and aggressive China, and I am glad COVID–19 and has led to far-reaching
nationally recognized terrorist organi- the Senate has taken up consideration consequences across virtually every in-
zation. of this legislation. dustry. In Texas a couple of weeks ago,
But we can’t lose sight of the country In coming days, I expect both sides to I met with executives from companies
behind the curtain, the silent financier offer amendments to strengthen this across the range of industries that
of this conflict, which is Iran, the No. legislation and to ensure that it ad- have been impacted by the shortage of
1 state sponsor of international ter- dresses a broad range of strategic semiconductors, including automotive,
rorism, because this is, in fact, a proxy threats. As Leader MCCONNELL has consumer electronics, and defense.
war waged against the Jewish State. said, a robust amendment process is So we need a strong response to re-
Iran is a prolific state sponsor of ter- critical to the success of this legisla- store domestic semiconductor manu-
rorism and has felt growing pressure tion. facturing, which is why last year, Sen-
from the United States and its allies in One of the most pressing needs, ator WARNER, the Senator from Vir-
recent years. The Trump administra- though, is to bolster our domestic ginia, and I introduced what we call
tion withdrew from the Iran nuclear semiconductor manufacturing, which the CHIPS for America Act. Thanks to
deal and placed sanctions on hundreds will be addressed and is addressed by the leadership of then-Chairman JIM
of businesses and individuals who have the underlying bill. We rely on these INHOFE on the Senate Armed Services
helped finance Iran’s illicit activities. microelectronic circuits, or semi- Committee, that became law, and it
And there is no question that Iran conductors, for everything from our will help restore American semicon-
stood to lose the most from the peace telephones that we have in our pockets ductor manufacturing by creating a
agreements brokered last year. The to the cars in our driveways, to the Federal incentive to encourage chip
threat of Iran was largely responsible missile defense systems that are right manufacturing right here in the U.S.A.
for these countries to come together now knocking down Hamas rockets But the thing we couldn’t do then,
and to lay down their arms and to work raining down over Israel. even though the amendment we intro-
together. Over the past couple of decades, as duced passed 96 to 4, to authorize this
The Biden administration has made our need for semiconductors has in- Federal incentive program, the one
clear it intends to recklessly revive the creased, as we have become more tech- thing that was missing was the money
Iran deal, while loosening the sanc- nologically centric, so has our depend- and the finances in order to make this
tions that would provide the United ence on the countries that produce happen.
States leverage to negotiate better those semiconductors. My preference is always to fund
terms. These important sanctions tar- Here is a graphic reminder of our de- things through the regular order when-
get Iran’s support for terrorist groups pendency on foreign supply chains in ever possible. We simply cannot get
like Hamas, as well as its ballistic mis- order to supply these critical semi- into the habit of cutting the Appro-
sile development and human rights vio- conductors that are so important to priations Committee out of the appro-
lations. our economy and to our national secu- priations process. But there is clearly
Removing them now, essentially uni- rity. As you can see, 63 percent of the broad support for the CHIPS for Amer-
laterally, is a grave mistake. Simply global market supply of semiconduc- ica Act. As I said, 96 Senators voted to
by signaling this intent, President tors comes from Taiwan, 18 percent include it in the Defense Authorization
Biden has already emboldened and en- comes from South Korea, 6 percent Act.
couraged Iran’s malign activities from China, but nearly 90 percent of I am committed to securing funding
through its proxies—Hamas, Hezbollah, chips are sourced from Southeast Asia. for the program created by the bill, and
and others. As we learned in the pandemic called there have been many conversations
This current loss of life and destruc- COVID–19, vulnerable supply chains are about the alternatives available to us
tion demonstrate that Iran is capable something we need to be aware of and on how to do so.
of wielding deadly force, even with lean to fight against. Originally, we introduced a tax credit
resources. Fewer sanctions, though, I am reminded of what President provision, but unfortunately that did
have meant less cash flowing to their Jimmy Carter said in 1980 in the State not seem to gain the traction that we
terrorist proxies. of the Union Message when he spoke needed. When we tried to get the fund-
This week, we are reminded of the about the Persian Gulf and Soviet ing in December, we came up empty-
saying that has been around for years: threats to the movement of essential handed.
‘‘If Hamas laid down its weapons today, energy supplies through the Strait of But today I am glad to say there is a
there would be no more violence. If Hormuz. President Carter at that time significant emergency appropriation
Israel laid down its weapons, there articulated the Carter doctrine, as it included in the underlying bill. But un-
would be no more Israel.’’ came to be known. He said: fortunately, politics being what it is
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
America must remain steadfast in An attempt by any outside force to gain and Washington being a political city,
our commitment to support Israel, as control of the Persian Gulf region will be re- there are unnecessary and purely polit-
well as our responsibility to counter garded as an assault on the vital interests of ical provisions related to the payment
threats posed by terrorist organiza- the United States of America. of prevailing wages, which U.S. semi-
tions like Hamas and malign nation In other words, it would be an act of conductor manufacturing companies
state actors like Iran. war because of the dramatic depend- already pay their employees, and they
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S2774 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 19, 2021
have created a problem for funding this That is not why I am here on the with what we all agreed to, Democrats
noncontroversial measure to bring chip floor, but I just wanted to mention and Republicans.
production back to American soil. that. In fact, in this document right here—
I have reached out to our friends S. 1260 we often refer to this document. This is
across the aisle to try to work in good Mr. President, on this legislation the NDAA document that was put to-
faith to reach a compromise that al- that we are working on right now, we gether, to remind my fellow Members
lows this funding to pass with a broad have an amendment. Senator SHELBY here, this was six Democrats and six
bipartisan majority. There is a clear and I, jointly, have an amendment. Republicans, all recognized in their
and urgent need to bolster domestic Now, we did this initially because I skills in military planning, coming up
semiconductor manufacturing and to chaired the Senate Armed Services with this document. This was 2018. Yet,
secure one of our most, if not the most, Committee and the Appropriations today, it is just as applicable as it was
critical supply chains. Committee, and it is an agreement back then. And that is what they talk
Here is what a recent support of the that we had 10 years ago. We agreed on about—what is necessary this year to
National Security Commission on Arti- parity, that anything that we do that spend on military to try to keep some
ficial Intelligence said: is going to be defense-related is going type of a parity with China.
[T]he United States is almost entirely reli- to be equaled by nondefense. Now, this has to be our top priority.
ant on foreign sources for production of cut- Now, that has been our pattern, Our security underwrites everything
ting-edge semiconductors critical for defense Democrats and Republicans, for 10 else we do as a nation. That is why
systems and industry more broadly, leaving years, but now the situation has America is viewed as the leader of the
the U.S. supply chain vulnerable to disrup- changed, the way it is structured now
tion by foreign government action or natural free world. It can’t be either one or the
in this bill, so that there is nothing in other. It has got to be both.
disaster.
there for defense. The Chinese are competing against
It is clear that other countries—no- Here we are in the most threatened
tably China—are steadily investing in us in every area, and this bill currently
position we have ever been in with does nothing to bolster our national
their own semiconductor manufac- China. Yet the China bill is doing all
turing. Today, as I speak, China is defense to confront this threat or to le-
these things with China, but it is not verage our military and intelligence
building 17 fabs, or manufacturing fa- doing anything in terms of the mili-
cilities, in the People’s Republic of community’s significant research and
tary that we are suffering under right development expertise in this area. It
China. now.
The United States needs to compete, doesn’t establish the sort of coopera-
We have to remember—a lot of people tion between our defense and commer-
and in order to do so, we need to pass have forgotten this—that two adminis-
this essential funding. We should not cial sectors on technology and techno-
trations ago, in the Obama administra- logical development that we need.
be bogged down by bipartisan or polit- tion, we had a situation where, during
ical points to be scored when, in fact, China isn’t just investing in tech-
the last 5 years—that would have been
they really don’t make any difference nology, manufacturing, and research;
from 2010 to 2015—the President at that
to the semiconductor industry because they are also investing in military.
time, President Obama, had reduced
they already pay high wages. The only They are putting more money into
the budget for defense by 25 percent.
reason to do this is to try to advance modernizing their military than ever
During the same timeframe, China had
the interests of organized labor and im- before. China is on a modernization
increased theirs by 83 percent.
pose additional costs on the construc- sprint. They have been channeling
Now, just look at that. That is what
tion of these advanced fabrication fa- money into building weapons that we
was happening. That was back in 2015,
cilities. don’t even have yet, like hypersonics.
and now the situation is really getting
The fact is, this actually expands the worse because, since that time, China I was embarrassed about a year ago
role of prevailing wage requirements has increased its capabilities in when China came out and in China, in
because this is essentially private con- hypersonics and other areas, so that their parade, they were displaying
struction, funded in part—in a modest they are actually ahead of us in many hypersonics, things we don’t even have
part—by U.S. Federal tax dollars. So areas. yet. That didn’t used to be that way. It
now is not the time to let politics get So what we want to do is just to be used to be, following the Second World
in the way of our progress. It is just sure that, whatever product we come War, that we always kept ahead at that
simply too important to our country. out with, we end up having parity be- time. We recognized that there was a
I yield the floor. tween defense spending and nondefense risk there and that the risk was some-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- spending. It is something we have been thing we had to meet.
ator from Oklahoma. doing for a long period of time. So they are on track to dominate in
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, before So the threat has not improved over new capabilities like artificial intel-
the Senator from Texas leaves the the last 3 years but has only gotten ligence and hypersonics and other
floor, I want to acknowledge that in worse. I think that any bill that really areas. So, meanwhile, we are crawling
Oklahoma, last Sunday, I was with a seeks to address the threat from forward because we aren’t giving our
group of people, and, independent of China—the whole threat from China— military the resources they need to
each other, they asked the same ques- must also address China’s very real stay competitive with China.
tion: Where is America, and what is military and its broader military-civil We know what that looks like. It is
happening over there right now? Our fusion that is taking place right now. at least 3 to 5 percent in real growth.
best friend and most loyal ally in that That is why any response can’t sepa- Now, that is actually what is in this
part of the world, Israel, is being hit by rate out military and economic com- document right now. They have up-
terrorists, and we are sitting back and petition. It must be whole of govern- dated this to show that right now we
not doing anything. It is just not ment. And this bill is only focused on should, in order to stay even with
thinkable that that could happen. economic competition, not military. China, be upgrading somewhere be-
I think one of the most meaningful Our amendment, SHELBY’s amend- tween 3 and 5 percent, this year, in this
things that I had not heard before, ment and mine, will make sure that budget. And we are reducing the
stated this way, that the Senator from any increase in nondefense, discre- amount. It doesn’t even meet the cost
Texas stated was, if Hamas were to tionary spending will be matched by of living.
stop the attacks on Israel, Israel would the same level of increase to the de- So in the military advantage—that is
do nothing, but if Israel were to stop fense spending. Now, this is not some- what we use to deter China from mov-
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
responding, there would be no Israel thing that is just Republican. This is ing from economic aggression to mili-
left. something that was agreed upon some tary aggression—we have already lost
That is the situation we have there. 10 years ago by Democrats and Repub- our edge in some areas. So, to maintain
It is something that is not understand- licans. Yet that is not what we are our military advantage, it is going to
able. It is something that we are going looking at with this. So this would take investment, but President Biden
to do everything we can to reverse. merely be going back and agreeing is not willing to make the investment
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May 19, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2775
we need. He is proposing to cut our de- hold in the tiny Dukes community in men and women who were eligible for
fense budget, and that doesn’t even Hancock County, KY. His family said the newly offered GI bill. Since that
keep pace with inflation. their goodbyes when he enlisted in the time, Casper College has continued
So, meanwhile, he is proposing to in- Navy in the summer of 1940 and he that same spirited mission. The college
crease all other spending almost 20 per- headed to the South Pacific—to Pearl is an incredible success story, growing
cent, and in this bill here it spends as Harbor. into one of the largest and most com-
much on microchips for the auto indus- Sadly, Daymond Young was one of prehensive community colleges in the
try as it does on microelectronics for the 429 crew members who perished Rocky Mountain West.
our national defense. Can you believe aboard the USS Oklahoma on December In 1955, the rapidly expanding 2-year
that? 7, 1941. He was 21 years old. The trag- school moved to its present location on
If we don’t invest in our military de- edy of his death was even more unbear- the hills below Casper Mountain.
terrent, it is hard to see how any of our able for his family because he was bur- Today, the campus comprises 28 build-
other efforts—diplomacy, innovation, ied in a mass grave among scores of un- ings on more than 200 acres. Casper
economic growth—will succeed either. identified shipmates. College offers more than 140 academic
So we will continue to work in a bi- His siblings and particularly his twin transfer and technical and career pro-
partisan fashion to address these needs. sister, Daisy, did all they could to keep grams. Eleven universities offer ad-
I really believe that this should be the his memory alive for their children, vanced degrees through university
first amendment to come up. I don’t who remember a photo of Daymond in partnership programs. There are 40
his Navy uniform that was always University of Wyoming programs
know. I am not in charge of that. But
proudly displayed in her home. All of through the Casper College 2+2 Degree
it should be. It is one that should be
his nieces and nephews looked up to plan.
easy to pass because it was agreed to 10 Casper College has received numer-
years ago—that we didn’t need to be in him even though most had never met
ous awards and national recognition.
a position where we are not keeping up him.
Beginning in 2015, new dental, In 2020, the College Consensus named
with China. Casper College one of the Fifty Best
So our amendment does one simple anthropologic and mitochondrial DNA
Community Colleges in the United
thing. It is parity. It says any change analyses were employed to identify
States. The school was also named the
that you make in the nondefense those who had fallen at Pearl Harbor,
ninth-best community college in the
spending you have to have in defense eventually certifying Daymond’s re-
Nation in a recent study conducted by
spending at the same time. I believe mains in 2019. His family members
the personal finance outlet WalletHub.
that should happen. It should take wanted to bury him on what would
This study recognizes where students
place. I am hoping that we will have an have been his 100th birthday, May 11,
can receive the best education at the
opportunity to vote on that tomorrow. 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic
lowest price. In 2021, Great Value Col-
With that, I yield the floor. made travel and a public ceremony im-
leges named Casper College as one of
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. possible. So, finally, on May 15, 2021,
America’s most beautiful community
KELLY). The Senator from Washington. the remains of Daymond Young re- college campuses.
ORDER OF BUSINESS turned to beautiful Hancock County, Casper College’s core values are in-
Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I ask KY, where he was buried alongside his tegrity, people, diversity, forward-
unanimous consent that when the Sen- ever-devoted sister Daisy. Among those thinking, and community. Alumni
ate resumes consideration of S. 1260 to- welcoming him were his nephew, Lay- leaders include former Vice President
morrow, the following amendments be man Hawkins, of Lewisport, KY, and of the United States Dick Cheney, the
called up and reported by number: the many relatives and residents who late country singer and rodeo cowboy
Inhofe-Shelby 1523 and Johnson 1518; knew him only by his legacy of sac- Chris LeDoux, artist Chris Navarro, re-
further, at 12 noon tomorrow, the Sen- rifice for his country. nowned entomoligist Wayne Hunter,
ate vote in relation to the Inhofe The tragedy of war, the unanswered and Marlan Scully, American physicist
amendment and at 1:30 p.m. in relation questions of forensic science, and even best known for his work in theoretical
to the Johnson amendment, with no the restrictions of a pandemic were ul- quantum optics. The alumni list also
amendments in order to these amend- timately unable to separate the re- includes former professional athletes
ments prior to a vote in relation to the mains of this honorable sailor from his Earle Higgins, Bob Lackey, and Flynn
amendment, with 60 affirmative votes loving family and the community that Robinson. With over 4,000 students
required for adoption. refused to forget him. Likewise, we are each semester, Casper college will con-
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there honored to remember him, and to this tinue to produce outstanding artists,
objection? returning sailor, we say, ‘‘Welcome athletes, academics, and professionals.
Without objection, it is so ordered. home. Fair winds and following seas.’’ Under the direction and guidance of
Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, just f President Darren Divine, staff, and fac-
for the notice of our colleagues, I 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF CASPER ulty, Casper College continues a tradi-
should say we are still trying to work COLLEGE tion of excellence started by the found-
out other amendments, including the ers 75 years ago. They are educating,
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I teaching, and training the next genera-
Coons amendment and others, so we stand today to recognize the 75th anni-
will be working on that this evening. tion of leaders and professionals. The
versary of Casper College, a commu- college board of trustees are Chair
f nity, regional, and State pillar of edu- Steve Degenfelder, Vice Chair Tim
cation. Casper College is one of Wyo- Kugle, Secretary Sue Schilling, and
MORNING BUSINESS
ming’s great educational institutions, Trustees Kathy Dolan, Liz Batton,
Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I ask with the mission of ‘‘Education for a Scott Bennion, and Susan D. Miller.
unanimous consent that the Senate be Lifetime.’’ Student Senate leaders for this anni-
in a period of morning business, with Casper College was the first commu- versary year are President Anastacia
Senators permitted to speak therein nity college in Wyoming. The idea for Slack, School of Business & Industry;
for up to 10 minutes each. the college began following World War Bre Long and Dylan Cornelius, School
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without I. After 19 years of study and debate, a of Fine Arts & Humanities; Tierra
objection, it is so ordered. measure to establish the college was Price and Jakob Duncan, School of
f passed by the Wyoming Legislature. It Health Science; Madelyn Polys and
was signed into law in February 1945 by Morgan Bundy, School of Science;
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
HONORING FIREMAN SECOND then-Governor Lester C. Hunt. Casper Emma Mercer and Abby Hudman,
CLASS MARTIN DAYMOND YOUNG Junior College opened in 1945 on the School of Social & Behavioral Science;
Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, Navy Fire- third floor of the Natrona County High Logan MacKearney and Charissa
man 2nd Class Martin Daymond Young, School building. Timing was ripe for Parker, Freshman Representatives;
born on May 11, 1920, was one of nine Casper College to meet the demands of and members Paige Noble and Dani
children who grew up in a busy house- the ‘‘greatest generation’’ of service Warner.
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